Ebola virus outbreak

gctest50

Saipanne wrote: »

I donated to Irish Red Cross. People should do so, if you haven't already. Its not really a selfless act.

n how about MSF ?


http://www.msf.ie/donate

realweirdo

Doctors and medical personal are/will be the focal point of any spread here in ireland as they were in west africa. Likewise doctors surgeries. They will treat the patient not knowing if they have ebola or not and infect themselves. Its unfair to expect them to bear the brunt of this.

Someone recently returned from west africa with symptoms similar to ebola should not be brought to ordinary doctors surgeries but to specialist units somewhere. Otherwise its a huge risk that increases by the day.

Harsh? Yes. But nessecary.

0byme75341jo28

realweirdo wrote: »

Doctors and medical personal are/will be the focal point of any spread here in ireland as they were in west africa. Likewise doctors surgeries. They will treat the patient not knowing if they have ebola or not and infect themselves. Its unfair to expect them to bear the brunt of this.

Someone recently returned from west africa with symptoms similar to ebola should not be brought to ordinary doctors surgeries but to specialist units somewhere. Otherwise its a huge risk that increases by the day.

Harsh? Yes. But nessecary.

That is a very fair suggestion.

Saipanne

Saipanne wrote: »

I donated to Irish Red Cross. People should do so, if you haven't already. Its not really a selfless act.

http://www.redcross.ie/fundraising/donate-now/

People should donate to whatever charity they choose themselves really.


Irish Red cross would not be my choice.

Spring Onion

WakeUp wrote: »

there was someone else on this thread a while ago fixated on my non-usage of the caps lock button so you are not alone either. a fear of capital letters the randomer on the blog says so with his frivolous topic:D Im sry it appears to bother you so much but thats your problem isnt it not mine. Im a cat person myself but I like dags too.

doesn't really bother me. i am just intrigued. however i will now make it my life's quest to search all your posts in search of a capital letter.

Saipanne

Jake1 wrote: »

People should donate to whatever charity they choose themselves really.


Irish Red cross would not be my choice.

Any charity will do. Happy?

Spring Onion

WakeUp wrote: »

I dont think the world is going to end but I wonder how long this James Ball chap has been studying the virus. he looks about 12. and from what I can see has no medical qualifications. he isnt qualified to be making such statements. in August he declared the outbreak to be linear, among other things, and not exponential. he got that wrong. and you dont need to be a virologist nor an epidemiologist to know and spot an exponential curve. Im sure he had a look at some charts. or maybe he didnt. didnt matter anyway.

What the hell happened here!!?? 6 of them!!

I can't stand inconsistency!

WakeUp

Spring Onion wrote: »

doesn't really bother me. i am just intrigued. however i will now make it my life's quest to search all your posts in search of a capital letter.

fair enough good for you, mystery is a good thing:D start a diary maybe its a good way of keeping track of things each day you dont find one should be marked with an "x" and a this :mad: . good luck in that cup.

Saipanne

Saipanne wrote: »

Any charity will do. Happy?

I now realise my post come's acoss, as quite snotty. It wasnt meant to be.

I apologise, Saipanne. No offense meant

delahuntv

realweirdo wrote: »

Doctors and medical personal are/will be the focal point of any spread here in ireland as they were in west africa. Likewise doctors surgeries. They will treat the patient not knowing if they have ebola or not and infect themselves. Its unfair to expect them to bear the brunt of this.

Someone recently returned from west africa with symptoms similar to ebola should not be brought to ordinary doctors surgeries but to specialist units somewhere. Otherwise its a huge risk that increases by the day.

Harsh? Yes. But nessecary.

and its misinformed comments like this that leads to hysteria.

its a pity people don't do a little research on what they are commenting on.

I heard one an post sorting office was going to walk out because one staff member had just returned from Nigeria! - Nigeria is ebola free and is almost 3000 km from Liberia!

FullblownRose

I have not donated anything. I have immense sympathy for people stuck there in afflicted regions of africa, kids stuck there being treated as pariahs after their own parents have died of ebla and with nobody willing to vsit them, I avoid such stories because it gets to me very badly.
Can you make once off donations? Maybe I am unusual in that I have to examine my budget before I donate any more, since I'm already signed up to monthly standing orders for dog's trust and a charity to help people in gaza so they won't get cholera. I have no subscriptions except internet and no club memberships or other commitments related to leisure or social activities- not sure if i've much of a margin to donate more right now. I could consider giving up buying shampoo or food or something :O

realweirdo

delahuntv wrote: »

and its misinformed comments like this that leads to hysteria.

its a pity people don't do a little research on what they are commenting on.

I heard one an post sorting office was going to walk out because one staff member had just returned from Nigeria! - Nigeria is ebola free and is almost 3000 km from Liberia!

I'm not the only one who thinks this way

http://www.independent.ie/world-news/europe/one-or-two-ebola-victims-could-arrive-in-ireland-professor-30653064.html

"Everyone who has a fever should be asked their travel history. If they have been in a country where there has been an Ebola outbreak there should be a plan for their care," he said.

Clear guidelines have been set out that detail what steps they should take in terms of tests and referral to specialist care.

"If they have a fever and have been to West Africa then you need to execute a detailed protocol. There is a flow-chart on the web which tells a GP what to do in the case of a suspected Ebola case.

Suppose you will call him misinformed too?

Where I disagree with him though is that a doctor who checks the patient without a hazmat suit is potentially exposing themselves to ebola.

Ebola is not really something you can make mistakes with.

Gael23

Can sexual activity spread ebola?

FullblownRose

ryanf1 wrote: »

Can sexual activity spread ebola?

Yes, infectious people can spread it through semen and presumably so can females spread it through sex. I have read that even if a person survives ebola they can spread it via sexual intercourse for a few months after their recovery!

ProfessorPlum

FullblownRose wrote: »

But you can sneeze for a non ebola reason while you have ebola- im not sick, ive no allergies, no cold or flu and not in a particularly dusty environment and i sneezed a few times already today. I automatically went to cover my face but Im sure a bit of moisture could have landed on my desk or anything i was standing close to andif i was in the early flu like stage of ebola and going out and about and sneezing away ..well..could be a problem.

I think unless the person is very sick and have very high viral loads it is very unlikely.

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2014/10/who-cdc-dissect-ebola-transmission-risk

"Saliva and tears may also carry some risk. However, the studies implicating these additional bodily fluids were extremely limited in sample size and the science is inconclusive. In studies of saliva, the virus was found most frequently in patients at a severe stage of illness. The whole live virus has never been isolated from sweat."

"Theoretically, wet and bigger droplets from a heavily infected individual, who has respiratory symptoms caused by other conditions or who vomits violently, could transmit the virus—over a short distance—to another nearby person,"

But it said it has not seen any studies that demonstrate this type of transmission—whereas solid studies from previous outbreaks show that all cases resulted from "direct close contact with symptomatic patients."

ryanf1 wrote: »

Can sexual activity spread ebola?

"The Ebola virus has also been detected in breast milk, urine, and semen," the statement adds. "In a convalescent male, the virus can persist in semen for at least 70 days; one study suggests persistence for more than 90 days.

I can't imagine it's a very common route of transmission. Steer clear of male partners who've recently recovered from Ebola.

FullblownRose

ProfessorPlum wrote: »

I think unless the person is very sick and have very high viral loads it is very unlikely.

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2014/10/who-cdc-dissect-ebola-transmission-risk

"Saliva and tears may also carry some risk. However, the studies implicating these additional bodily fluids were extremely limited in sample size and the science is inconclusive. In studies of saliva, the virus was found most frequently in patients at a severe stage of illness. The whole live virus has never been isolated from sweat."

"Theoretically, wet and bigger droplets from a heavily infected individual, who has respiratory symptoms caused by other conditions or who vomits violently, could transmit the virus—over a short distance—to another nearby person,"

But it said it has not seen any studies that demonstrate this type of transmission—whereas solid studies from previous outbreaks show that all cases resulted from "direct close contact with symptomatic patients."




"The Ebola virus has also been detected in breast milk, urine, and semen," the statement adds. "In a convalescent male, the virus can persist in semen for at least 70 days; one study suggests persistence for more than 90 days.

I can't imagine it's a very common route of transmission. Steer clear of male partners who've recently recovered from Ebola.

That's all good.

Im not too worried about encounters with ebola survivors either I'm not worried for myself!

JONJO THE MISER

:eek: Dead ebola victims coming back to life.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201409240829.html

Joe Doe

JONJO THE MISER wrote: »

:eek: Dead ebola victims coming back to life.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201409240829.html

Old news now, it was just someone having a journalistic comedy moment.

Gotta ignore the growing number of comedy type news websites which are even creeping into the mainstream feeds.

ceadaoin.

This is an interesting first hand account by a doctor in Nigeria who contracted ebola from Patrick Sawyer.

http://dailypost.ng/2014/09/15/ebola-second-doctor-infected-patrick-sawyer-survives-tells-full-story/

Autonomous Cowherd

ceadaoin. wrote: »

This is an interesting first hand account by a doctor in Nigeria who contracted ebola from Patrick Sawyer.

http://dailypost.ng/2014/09/15/ebola-second-doctor-infected-patrick-sawyer-survives-tells-full-story/

that is a great piece.

nyarlothothep

Seems to be very easy to get infected if the person is shedding a lot of virus based on that article. Imo a vaccine and anti viral meds are the best way forward.

deseil

Probably a dumb question..but could it be possible that mosquitos who bite an Ebola sufferer could then pass it to someone else they bite?

deseil

deseil wrote: »

Probably a dumb question..but could it be possible that mosquitos who bite an Ebola sufferer could then pass it to someone else they bite?

The CDC believes you cannot get Ebola fro Mosquito bite

'Can Ebola be spread through mosquitos?
There is no evidence that mosquitos or other insects can transmit Ebola virus. Only mammals (for example, humans, bats, monkeys and apes) have shown the ability to spread and become infected with Ebola virus.'

http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/transmission/qas.html

My name is URL

ceadaoin. wrote: »

This is an interesting first hand account by a doctor in Nigeria who contracted ebola from Patrick Sawyer.

http://dailypost.ng/2014/09/15/ebola-second-doctor-infected-patrick-sawyer-survives-tells-full-story/

That was an excellent read

Autonomous Cowherd

My name is URL wrote: »

That was an excellent read

Yes, i shared it elsewhere. It is the first time I have seen such an inside, detailed, fascinating account of what it is like to live through the hell of Ebola. Those nurses, doctors and cleaning staff who step daily into the Ebola ring are unsung superheroes.

ProfessorPlum

A very good read. I think it's a fascinating insight into the power of denial also. A medical doctor, who knew she had been in close contact with a patient with Ebola, develops symptoms consistent with Ebola yet treats her self with for malaria and a bacterial infection for several days before seeking help. Imagine how much easier it must be for lay people in the same situation to continue to deny the possibility that they may be infected.

ceadaoin.

My name is URL wrote: »

That was an excellent read

Yes, amazing that she survived in those conditions. I found it interesting that even this woman, a doctor who had treated an ebola patient, was in denial at first that she could have it. This denial seems to be common and is probably one of the reasons it has spread so much. It's obviously a natural human reaction when faced with a possibly fatal illness.

There is also a interview with the fiancé of the pregnant nurse that the doctor mentions. Her experience sounds horrific. He apparently became infected with ebola also but his only symptoms were a slight fever and abdominal pains which went away after a few days. He was admitted to hospital where he tested positive for ebola twice but had no symptoms at that time. I wonder if he was contagious despite being asymptomatic? I presume if the virus was detectable in his blood,then it would also be present in his other bodily fluids?

http://www.bellanaija.com/2014/08/30/he-lost-his-fiance-baby-to-ebola-read-nigerian-ebola-survivors-dennis-akagha-heartbreaking-story/

FullblownRose

It's very natural, to go into denial and try everything. It's so sad, really.

I thought the mosquito question was a very good question, by the way.

mzungu

ceadaoin. wrote: »

This is an interesting first hand account by a doctor in Nigeria who contracted ebola from Patrick Sawyer.

Great read, thanks for sharing. I found the account of being inside the Lagos quarantine as a proper hell on earth scenario. Have now shared this, this is something everybody should be reading.

Ficheall

delahuntv wrote: »

I heard one an post sorting office was going to walk out because one staff member had just returned from Nigeria! - Nigeria is ebola free and is almost 3000 km from Liberia!

You mean apart from the 20 cases and 8 deaths?

delahuntv wrote: »

its a pity people don't do a little research on what they are commenting on.