Thread: Officials: Second person being monitored for Ebola

Officials: Second person being monitored for Ebola

Marjorie Owens, WFAA-TV, Dallas-Fort Worth 11:52 a.m. EDT October 1, 2014

DALLAS — Health officials are closely monitoring a possible second Ebola patient who had close contact with the first person to be diagnosed in the U.S., the director of Dallas County's health department said Wednesday.
All who have been in close contact with the man diagnosed are being monitored as a precaution, Zachary Thompson, director of Dallas County Health and Human Services, said in a morning interview with WFAA-TV.
"Let me be real frank to the Dallas County residents: The fact that we have one confirmed case, there may be another case that is a close associate with this particular patient," he said. "So this is real. There should be a concern, but it's contained to the specific family members and close friends at this moment."
The director continued to assure residents that the public isn't at risk because health officials have the virus contained.


UNANSWERED: Why did hospital send Ebola patient home without diagnosis?


On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed a patient at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas was the first person to be diagnosed in the United States with the Ebola virus.
The patient left Liberia on Sept. 19 and arrived in Dallas the following day. On Sept. 26, he sought treatment at the hospital after becoming ill but was sent home with a prescription for antibiotics. Two days later, he was admitted with more critical symptoms, after requiring an ambulance ride to the hospital.

Zachary Taylor, director of Dallas County's health department, discusses precautions being taken after a patient in the Texas city was diagnosed Sept. 30, 2014, with Ebola.(Photo: WFAA-TV, Dallas-Fort Worth)

The patient was in contact with several children before he was hospitalized, health officials here said.

Each of those children have been kept home from school and are under precautionary monitoring, Thompson said.
The Dallas County school district officials said they are working closely with health officials.
"They are consulting with the county on any additional action that may need to be taken during the course of investigation," district spokesman Jon Dahlander said in a statement. "This is part of routine emergency operations during a health incident in the county. This is same protocol taken during things like flu and tuberculosis cases."
More than a half a dozen CDC employees arrived in Dallas after news of the diagnosis broke. The CDC and Dallas County are working together in what they call a contact investigation.
Anyone who has had contact with the patient, including emergency room staff, will be under health officials' observation for 21 days. If any of those being monitored show symptoms, they'll be placed in isolation.
The three paramedics who transported the patient in Dallas are temporarily off duty and among those under observation.
TUESDAY: Dallas hospital diagnoses first patient with Ebola
ALSO: Paramedics, ER staff under Ebola observation in Dallas
MONDAY: Dallas hospital isolates possible Ebola patient
Stanley Gaye, president of the Liberian Community Association of Dallas-Fort Worth, said the 10,000-strong Liberian population in North Texas is skeptical of the CDC's assurances because Ebola has ravaged their country.
"We've been telling people to try to stay away from social gatherings," Gaye said at a community meeting Tuesday. Large get-togethers are a prominent part of Liberian culture.
Ebola symptoms can include fever, muscle pain, vomiting and bleeding and can appear as long as 21 days after exposure to the virus. The disease is not contagious until symptoms begin, and it takes close contact with bodily fluids to spread.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry and the state's health director, David Lakey, will have a noon CT press conference at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital here to address the diagnosis.
Contributing: Jenny Doren, WFAA-TV, Dallas-Fort Worth; The Associated Press

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...ient/16525649/

More stories on Ebola over on Other News: http://www.alipac.us/19-other-topics-news-issues.html/

Linked to above article. Ebola patient is Liberian National.
Miles: 5 DISD students possibly exposed to Ebola

Marjorie Owens , WFAA & Associated Press1:19 p.m. CDT October 1, 2014

(Photo: WFAA)

DALLAS — The sister of the first Ebola patient diagnosed in the United States says he told relatives he notified officials the first time he went to the hospital that he was visiting from Liberia.

Mai Wureh says her brother, Thomas Eric Duncan, went to a Dallas emergency room on Friday and they sent him home with antibiotics. She says he said hospital officials asked for his Social Security number and he said that he didn't have one because he was visiting from Liberia.

In a news conference Wednesday, Dr. Mark Lester confirmed that a nurse asked Duncan on his first visit whether he had been in an area affected by the Ebola outbreak that has killed thousands in West Africa, but that "information was not fully communicated throughout the whole team."

Dallas ISD superintendent Mike Miles also revealed that five children from four of the district's schools were possibly exposed to the virus.

Miles identified the schools as:

• Conrad High School
• Tasby Middle School
• Hotchkiss Elementary School
• Dan D. Rogers Elementary

The patient who was diagnosed with the Ebola virus was staying at a northeast Dallas apartment complex, according to a Dallas police spokesman.

Lt. Joel Lavender confirmed the patient was transported from the Ivy Apartments to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas on September 28.


North Texas Ebola map(Photo: WFAA)

Residents and the manager at the complex said no one from the CDC or health department have contacted them.

Due to close contact with the diagnosed patient, a second person is under the close monitoring of health officials as a possible second patient, said the director of Dallas County's health department Wednesday morning in an interview with WFAA.

Zachary Thompson, the director of Dallas County Health and Human Services, says all those who've been in close contact with the diagnosed patient are being monitored as a precaution. However, Thompson pointed to one person in particular as a potential second case.

"Let me be real frank to the Dallas County residents, the fact that we have one confirmed case, there may be another case that is a close associate with this particular patient," he said in a Wednesday interview with WFAA. "... So this is real. There should be a concern, but it's contained to the specific family members and close friends at this moment."

The director continued to assure residents that the public isn't at risk as health officials have the virus contained.
Tuesday, the Center for Disease Control confirmed a patient at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas was the first person to be diagnosed with the Ebola virus in the United States. While reported to be in critical condition Tuesday, the patient's condition was downgraded to serious but stable the following morning.

The patient left Liberia on September 19 and arrived in Dallas to visit relatives the following day, said CDC director Tom Frieden. On September 26, he sought treatment at the hospital after becoming ill but was sent home with a prescription for antibiotics. Two days later, he was admitted with more critical symptoms, after requiring an ambulance ride to the hospital.


Dallas County health director addresses Ebola case

"I have no doubt that we'll stop this in its tracks in the U.S.," Frieden said. "But I also have no doubt that — as long as the outbreak continues in Africa — we need to be on our guard."

Local health officials say the patient was in contact with several children before he was hospitalized. Thompson says each of those children have been kept home and are under precautionary monitoring.

More than a half a dozen employees with the CDC arrived in Dallas after news of the confirmed diagnosis broke. The CDC and Dallas County are working together in what they call a "contact investigation." Anyone who has had contact with the patient, including emergency room staff, will be under the observation of health officials for 21 days. If any of those under monitoring show symptoms, they'll be placed in isolation.

Officials say about 12 to 18 people were in direct contact with the patient since he arrived in Dallas. They also confirmed the patient was vomiting upon his arrival to Presbyterian.

The three paramedics who transported the patient are temporarily off duty and among those under observation. All three paramedics tested negative for the virus.

Stanley Gaye, president of the Liberian Community Association of Dallas-Fort Worth, said the 10,000-strong Liberian population in North Texas is skeptical of the CDC's assurances because Ebola has ravaged their country.

"We've been telling people to try to stay away from social gatherings," Gaye said at a community meeting Tuesday evening. Large get-togethers are a prominent part of Liberian culture.

Ebola symptoms can include fever, muscle pain, vomiting and bleeding, and can appear as long as 21 days after exposure to the virus. The disease is not contagious until symptoms begin, and it takes close contact with bodily fluids to spread.

Accompanied by Gov., Rick Perry, state health director David L. Lakey spoke Wednesday afternoon from Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital.

"This is a very sophisticated city, a very sophisticated hospital ... and the chances of it being spread are very, very scarce," he said.

Lakey said the state was preparing for the virus as early as August. He also said health officials have been in close contact with the patient's family.

"Messages have been conveyed to them about how we need to approach the situation," he said.

http://www.wfaa.com/story/news/health/2014/10/01/thompson-dallas-county-ebola-patient-cases/16524303/

Moved to News - Ebola patient is a Liberian National

Oct. 1, 2014 2:15 PM ET
Sister: US Ebola patient said he was from Liberia
By DAVID WARREN and LAURAN NEERGARD,
Associated Press

DALLAS (AP) — The first Ebola patient diagnosed in the United States told relatives that he notified health care workers the first time he went to the hospital that he was visiting the U.S. from Liberia, the man's sister said Wednesday.

Mai Wureh told The Associated Press that her brother, Thomas Eric Duncan, went to a Dallas emergency room on Friday and was sent home with antibiotics. He returned two days later after his condition worsened and was admitted to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital.

Dr. Mark Lester confirmed Wednesday that a nurse asked Duncan on his first visit whether he had been in an area affected by the Ebola outbreak that has killed thousands in West Africa, but that "information was not fully communicated throughout the whole team."

A nine-member group of federal health officials was tracking anyone who had close contact with the man.
The team from the Centers for Disease Control was in Dallas to work with local and state health agencies to ensure that those people are watched every day for 21 days.

"If anyone develops fever, we'll immediately isolate them to stop the chain of transmission," Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control, said in an interview.

Duncan has been kept in isolation at the hospital since Sunday. He was listed in serious but stable condition.
Ebola is believed to have sickened more than 6,500 people in West Africa, and more than 3,000 deaths have been linked to the disease, according to the World Health Organization.

Officials are monitoring 12 to 18 people who may have been exposed to the man, including three members of the ambulance crew that transported him to the hospital and five schoolchildren.

Some of the people are members of his family, but not all, Dallas city spokeswoman Sana Syed said.

The ambulance crew tested negative for the virus and was restricted to home while their conditions are observed. The children, who attend four separate schools, apparently had contact with the man over the weekend and then returned to classes this week. But school officials have said they showed no symptoms.
Ebola symptoms can include fever, muscle pain, vomiting and bleeding, and can appear as long as 21 days after exposure to the virus. The disease is not contagious until symptoms begin, and it takes close contact with bodily fluids to spread.

Officials said there are no other suspected cases in Texas, but the diagnosis sent chills through the area's West African community, whose leaders urged caution to prevent spreading the virus.

The man left Liberia on Sept. 19, arrived the next day to visit relatives and started feeling ill four or five days later, Frieden said.

Stanley Gaye, president of the Liberian Community Association of Dallas-Fort Worth, said the 10,000-strong Liberian population in North Texas is skeptical of the CDC's assurances because Ebola has ravaged their country.

"We've been telling people to try to stay away from social gatherings," Gaye said Tuesday at a community meeting.

The CDC has not advised that people avoid large gatherings in this country.

The association's vice president warned against alarm in the community.

"We don't want to get a panic going," said vice president Roseline Sayon. "We embrace those people who are coming forward. Don't let the stigma keep you from getting tested."

Frieden said he did not believe anyone on the same flights as the patient was at risk.

The man traveled from the Liberian capital of Monrovia to Brussels and then to Dallas, according to a spokeswoman for the Belgium health ministry, Vinciane Charlier.

"Ebola doesn't spread before someone gets sick, and he didn't get sick until four days after he got off the airplane," Frieden said.

Four American aid workers who became infected in West Africa have been flown back to the U.S. for treatment after they became sick. They were treated in special isolation facilities at hospitals in Atlanta and Nebraska. Three have recovered.

A U.S. doctor exposed to the virus in Sierra Leone is under observation in a similar facility at the National Institutes of Health.

The U.S. has only four such isolation units, but Frieden said there was no need to move the latest patient because virtually any hospital can provide the proper care and infection control.

Blood tests by Texas health officials and the CDC separately confirmed his Ebola diagnosis Tuesday. State health officials described the patient as seriously ill.

Passengers leaving Liberia pass through rigorous screening, the country's airport authority said Wednesday. But those checks are no guarantee that an infected person won't get through and airport officials would be unlikely to stop someone not showing symptoms, according to Binyah Kesselly, chairman of the Liberia Airport Authority's board of directors.

CDC officials are helping staff at Monrovia's airport, where passengers are screened for signs of infection, including fever, and asked about their travel history. Plastic buckets filled with chlorinated water for hand-washing are present throughout the airport.

Liberia is one of the three hardest-hit countries in the epidemic, along with Sierra Leone and Guinea.
___
Neergaard reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Nomaan Merchant in Dallas and Emily Schmall in Fort Worth; Jonathan Paye-Layleh in Monrovia, Liberia; Francis Kokutse in Accra, Ghana, and Matt Small of AP Radio, contributed to this report.

http://hosted2.ap.org/wrko/88be40d5e...c5d57450f8c2fb

EBOLA UNSTOPPABLE WITHOUT TOTAL QUARANTINE

Scientists warned curbing air travel would only delay spread


October 1, 2014
JEROME R. CORSI


NEW YORK – In an article published in a scientific journal one month ago, an international team of scientists correctly predicted Ebola would reach the United States by the end of September, arguing a reduction in airline travel of as much as 80 percent would only delay the international spread of the disease by three to four weeks at most.

The study, published in the scientific journal PLOS Currents: Outbreaks, used data supplied by the World Health Organization on the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

Yesterday, the Centers for Disease Control reported the first case of Ebola brought to the U.S. by an airline passenger.
The study noted the near impossibility of completely ending air travel from Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, the three West African countries most affected by the disease. It pointed out that airlines that have discontinued flights continue to assist West African travelers by booking them on other airlines.

“We have explored the scenario assuming an 80 percent airline traffic flow reduction to and from the West African region that provided evidence of a general time-delay of the distribution characterizing the probability of case importation of about three to four weeks,” the scientists said.

“Although this delay may be useful, it would not help much unless interventions on the ground could be put in place in the interval that were effective in stopping the growth of the [Ebola] outbreak.”

The researchers also agreed with the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control that restrictions in air travel “may hamper the deployment of personnel and support in the region, ultimately creating a counter-productive effect in the containment effort.”

The scientists said that containing Ebola in Nigeria was critical to the effort to control the disease, because Nigeria, the most populous nation in Africa with more than 166 million people, generates the most international travel.

Ranked in order, the top countries outside Africa where the scientists predicted Ebola would spread are the United Kingdom, Belgium, France, the United States and Germany.

The scientists noted “the ability to detect Ebola cases during international flights can affect the risk of importation.” They added that airports that are final destinations are more at risk of importing Ebola, because people infected with the disease don’t usually show symptoms until three weeks later.

The study concluded with an ominous warning: “The current analysis shows that if the West African outbreak is not contained, the probability of international spread is going to increase consistently, especially if other countries are affected and not able to contain the epidemic.”

WND reported last week an immigration expert contends the Obama administration’s unwillingness to ban air travel from West Africa leaves the U.S. vulnerable to the disease.

WND has also reported Air France pilots and aircrews have pushed for the right to refuse to fly to West Africa.
The CDC issued a traveler’s alert for all U.S. residents “to avoid travel to Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leon because of unprecedented outbreaks of Ebola in those countries.” But the CDC alert stopped short of an air travel embargo, merely recommending “that travelers to these countries protect themselves by avoiding contact with the blood and body fluids of people who are sick with Ebola.”

Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2014/10/staggerin...TdJhXjIuGuC.99

http://www.alipac.us/f19/cdc-3-child...e-died-311969/