Tracking the next pandemic: Avian Flu Talk |
Ebola-Stricken American Doctor is Worse |
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hachiban08
Senior Moderator Joined: December 06 2007 Location: California, USA Status: Offline Points: 15627 |
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Posted: July 31 2014 at 10:46am |
Ebola-Stricken American Doctor Has Taken 'Turn for the Worse'http://abcnews.go.com/Health/WorldNews/ebola-stricken-american-doctor-turn-worse/story?id=24791024 An American doctor being treated for Ebola in Liberia has “taken a slight turn for the worse overnight,” according to Samaritan’s Purse, an evangelical Christian Charity based in North Carolina. An "experimental serum" to treat the virus arrived for the two infected Americans, but there was only enough for one person, according to Samaritan’s Purse.
Dr. Kent Brantly, who noticed his Ebola symptoms and quarantined himself
last week, offered the dose to the other infected American, Dr. Nancy
Writebol. Both Brantly and Writebol remain in “stable, but grave condition” according to the statement. “However, Dr. Brantly received a unit of blood from a 14-year-old boy who had survived Ebola because of Dr. Brantly’s care,” Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse, said in a statement. The young boy and his family wanted to be able to help the doctor that saved his life.” Samaritan’s Purse is currently evacuating all but the most essential members of its organization from the region because of the outbreak. While none of those infected landed in the U.S., the chance of that occurring is a growing concern for health officials. |
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Be prepared! It may be time....^_^v
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KiwiMum
Chief Moderator Joined: May 29 2013 Status: Offline Points: 29680 |
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Poor sods. I feel especially sorry for them because they know what's coming to them.
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Those who got it wrong, for whatever reason, may feel defensive and retrench into a position that doesn’t accord with the facts.
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onefluover
Admin Group Joined: April 21 2013 Location: Death Valleyish Status: Offline Points: 20151 |
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I wonder what is known about the use of Ebola anti-body blood transfusions. Given the circumstances, it is an experiment worth trying. Maybe a treatment can come from the use of blood of those who whooped it. And the experimental serum? Still no mention of what that may be. I would try everything though including injections of external cidals. I'll bet sometimes the key to a cure is staring us in the face. (And I'm talking about I'd inject myself if it appeared I was about to die anyways.)
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"And then there were none."
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Technophobe
Assistant Admin Joined: January 16 2014 Location: Scotland Status: Offline Points: 88450 |
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Once upon a time dilute peroxide was actually given introvenously as an antimicrobial treatment. Obviously this was a profoundly toxic process and as soon as antibiotics got underway was abandoned. The human body can take a remarkably large amount of peroxide though, it is still used to swab out wounds in some circumstances. It saved my life when after a botched cesarian I had "a haematoma the size of a football" which was rotting nicely internally.
I wonder if (bearing in mind the fragility of the ebola virus) this old system might not improve the chances of sufferers. There would have to be intense monitoring, so if the clotting/bleeding symptoms went too far in the clot direction as a consequence of the peroxide, this could be countered with anticoagulants. There would need to be some considerable monitoring for the emergence of a cytokine storm as well. This does not occur at first, as initially ebola seems to reduce the imune system. Then suddenly the system goes into overdrive. Perhaps there could be a bunch of steroids on hand for this moment. Maybe even induced acidosis might help. I make no claims of medical knowledge (or even the ability to spell the medical words) so this is just an idea or two. But in the absence of much knowledge who knows? If dying I would want to at least try. |
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How do you tell if a politician is lying?
His lips or pen are moving. |
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newbie1
Adviser Group Joined: July 29 2014 Location: Western Canada Status: Offline Points: 2345 |
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I just found this....
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/07/31/first-ebola-case-coming-to-atlanta-for-treatment.html "This is the first time a patient infected with the ebola virus, which can kill up to 90 percent of the people it infects in a matter of days, has been brought to the United States or the Western Hemisphere. The disease is a spread via bodily fluids, necesitating strict isolation for the patients and thorough decontamination. Health care workers like Brantly and Writebol place themselves at great risk to treat diseases like ebola." If this is correct - They are bringing the American doctor home to the US for treatment!!! Not sure about the rest of you but that makes my heart beat faster... |
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Cherish each moment
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hachiban08
Senior Moderator Joined: December 06 2007 Location: California, USA Status: Offline Points: 15627 |
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Newbie- they are actually bringing both of them back to the US now.
Per ABC News' facebook: NEW: 2 American patients stricken with Ebola will be flown to the US, ABC News' Dr. Richard Besser has learned: abcn.ws/1n8FUM6 |
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Be prepared! It may be time....^_^v
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newbie1
Adviser Group Joined: July 29 2014 Location: Western Canada Status: Offline Points: 2345 |
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Hi hachiban08
I wondered why they'd only bring 1.... Wonder who gets the great job of cleaning the plane after they disembark? Assume this will be 'private' plane vs. public??? Wonder what it costs to bring them home & treat them in this facility? And yes I consider them hero's for fighting this and would much rather see $/s spent on this then all the war mongering!! I guess if gets away on doctors/staff at this facility (one of 4 in US) then we better all lock the gates??? |
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Cherish each moment
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Jen147
Moderator Joined: March 23 2013 Status: Offline Points: 17144 |
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Samaritan's Purse is working with the CDC to bring them back. Franklin Graham said on FOX News today that every precaution would be taken. God help us if something goes wrong.
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Jen147
Moderator Joined: March 23 2013 Status: Offline Points: 17144 |
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I'm assuming but could be wrong that Samaritans Purse is paying for the medevac.
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onefluover
Admin Group Joined: April 21 2013 Location: Death Valleyish Status: Offline Points: 20151 |
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The medevac is en route. I'm sure Billy Graham's son will get a bill but there is sure to be massive expense in this that will be paid for by the government (us), as it should be. Like Chuck said, we need "hands on" right where we can do this best. Studying this virus in a tin hut is retarded. Besides that, infected people are going to slowly start making their way into the US any day now and in my opinion, with absolute certainty any month now.
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"And then there were none."
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Guests
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This is a sad situation. I hope these people make it. I don't worry about them coming to this will be high security. My question is how will they dispose of the bodies? Cremation is they only thing they can do I would think.
All sad! |
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onefluover
Admin Group Joined: April 21 2013 Location: Death Valleyish Status: Offline Points: 20151 |
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Guy Niño is a dear and special friend of mine. He is a neurosurgeon and is the creator of the paramedic industry which he sold and then built the worlds largest limousine service, Silverado Coach Co, which includes chartered jumbo jets and medevacs. I bet that's his plane.
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"And then there were none."
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CRS, DrPH
Expert Level Adviser Joined: January 20 2014 Location: Arizona Status: Offline Points: 26660 |
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This article has a pretty amazing slide-show of the transport airplane & interior medical containment to bring the patient back to the USA.
A lot of this technology was developed during the Cold War, in anticipation of "germ warfare" with the now-defunct Soviet Union. I'm afraid that I'm not very optimistic for the health of our doctor friend....the stress of trans-Atlantic flight would be brutal in his condition. |
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CRS, DrPH
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cobber
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Hey just heard about this doctor... Big Big Ups to him. He refused a serum and said to give it to his colleague as he took them to the ebola area.. Very proud of humanity today
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Jen147
Moderator Joined: March 23 2013 Status: Offline Points: 17144 |
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Thanks for the slide show Dr. I hope you are wrong about Dr. Brantly, he got the infusion from the 14 yr old survivor, maybe it wasn't too late.
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CRS, DrPH
Expert Level Adviser Joined: January 20 2014 Location: Arizona Status: Offline Points: 26660 |
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U.S. health officials were scrambling on Friday to fetch at least one American patient infected with Ebola virus back from West Africa for treatment. Emory University Hospital said it was ready to take care of one patient at a special isolation unit that it operates in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The outbreak of Ebola virus in West Africa threatens catastrophic consequences if it is not controlled soon, the head of the World Health Organization, Dr. Margaret Chan, told African leaders. But she said it is possible to control the infection. The outbreak’s infected more than 1,300 people and killed more than 700 of them. What wasn’t immediately clear was who will be evacuated from Africa, and when. Such an evacuation involves delicate negotiations and requires the involvement of the CDC, the U.S. State Department and the employers of whoever is being evacuated. "Dr. Kent Brantly, a doctor working for Samaritan's Purse, and Nancy Writebol, a missionary with SIM (Serving in Mission), are currently in serious condition," the charity Samaritan's Purse said in a statement. "The two Americans who contracted Ebola in Liberia remain in the country today but medical evacuation efforts are underway and should be completed by early next week," it added. http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ebola-virus-outbreak/u-s-scrambles-retrieve-ebola-patients-n170461 |
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CRS, DrPH
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Jen147
Moderator Joined: March 23 2013 Status: Offline Points: 17144 |
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Fox News just said its Nancy that's in the air now will be here soon.
I thought she had gotten the "experimental" treatment that Dr Brantly had declined & that he had gotten the blood transfusion from the 14 yr old survivor he had once treated. News just made it sound like the transfusion & experimental treatment are the same thing. I guess I got confused thinking they were two separate things. Some of the articles make it sound like he got the transfusion. |
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Jen147
Moderator Joined: March 23 2013 Status: Offline Points: 17144 |
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Obviously there's a lot of misinformation going around & reports that down right contradict each other. I watched that reporter standing right in front of the Atlanta hospital say it was Nancy Whitebol that was the first to arrive, then of course today we all know that's not true.
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onefluover
Admin Group Joined: April 21 2013 Location: Death Valleyish Status: Offline Points: 20151 |
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There's a reason why Fox News has more viewers than all the others combined but even they make mistakes. You'd think they'd make more with all the Foxy Blonds... Just kidding. JUST KIDDING!
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"And then there were none."
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Elver
Valued Member Joined: June 14 2008 Status: Offline Points: 7778 |
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Those women at Fox News are all highly educated, but it is even hard for me to see past those sleeveless dresses and the high heels. I just wish they would wear a suit jacket once in awhile.
http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/personalities/jamie-colby/bio/#s=a-d |
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nc_girl
V.I.P. Member Joined: January 19 2006 Location: NC Status: Offline Points: 3968 |
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as a woman I agree with you... they are highly educated and pretty so why the need to put them into super high heels and short dresses? They will still be just as pretty without trying so hard to sex them up. It's the news they are delivering not fluff.
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Jen147
Moderator Joined: March 23 2013 Status: Offline Points: 17144 |
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Excerpt:
Aug 2nd 2014 2:00PM
There are experimental treatments, but Brantly had only enough for one person, and insisted that his colleague receive it. His best hope in Africa was the transfusion of blood he received including antibodies from one of his patients, a 14-year-old boy who survived thanks to the doctor.
So I was right.... Mrs. Whitebol got the "experimental" treatment & Dr. Brantly got the blood transfusion.
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Jen147
Moderator Joined: March 23 2013 Status: Offline Points: 17144 |
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U.S. doctor stricken with Ebola said to be improvingDr. Kent Brantly was able to walk, with help, from an ambulance after he was flown on Saturday to Atlanta, where he is being treated by infectious disease specialists at Emory University Hospital. "It's encouraging that he seems to be improving - that's really important - and we're hoping he'll continue to improve," said Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta. Frieden told CBS's "Face the Nation" it was too soon to predict whether Brantly would survive, and a hospital spokesman said Emory did not expect to provide any updates on the doctor's condition on Sunday.
Brantly is a 33-year-old father of two young children who works for the North Carolina-based Christian organization, Samaritan's Purse. He was in Liberia responding to the worst Ebola outbreak on record when he contracted the disease. Since February, more than 700 people in West Africa have died from Ebola, a hemorrhagic virus with a death rate of up to 90 percent of those infected. The fatality rate in the current epidemic is about 60 percent. Frieden told ABC's "This Week" that the CDC was "surging" its response, and that it will send 50 staff to West Africa "to help stop the outbreak in the next 30 days." Amber Brantly, Dr. Brantly's wife, said she was able to see her husband on Sunday and he was in good spirits, and that the family is confident he is receiving the very best care. "He thanked everyone for their prayers," she said in a statement. A second U.S. aid worker who contracted Ebola alongside him, missionary Nancy Writebol, will be brought to the United States on a later flight. The medical aircraft is equipped to carry only one patient at a time. Standard treatment for the disease is to provide supportive care. In Atlanta, doctors will try to maintain blood pressure and support breathing, with a respirator if needed, or provide dialysis if patients experience kidney failure, as some Ebola sufferers do. SECOND MISSIONARY EXPECTED SOON Writebol, a 59-year-old mother of two who worked to decontaminate those entering and leaving an Ebola isolation unit in Liberia, was due to depart for the United States overnight on Monday, Liberia's information minister said. Writebol's husband, David, who had been living and working in Liberia with his wife, was expected to travel home separately in the next few days, their missionary organization, SIM USA, said in a statement. Separately, the charity Medical Teams International said one of its doctors had placed himself in voluntary confinement after returning to the United States from Liberia on July 25. The doctor, Alan Jamison, worked in the same isolation units as Brantly and Writebol, it said, adding that he has no symptoms and that there was no evidence he was exposed to the virus. The facility at Emory chosen to treat the two infected Americans was set up with CDC and is one of four in the country with the ability to handle such cases. The CDC has said it is not aware of any Ebola patient having been treated in the United States previously. Five people entered the country in the past decade with either Lassa Fever or Marburg, both hemorrhagic fevers similar to Ebola. President Barack Obama has said some participants at an Africa summit in Washington this week would be screened for Ebola exposure. The CDC's Frieden said there was no reason to cancel the event. "There are 50 million travelers from around the world that come to the U.S. each year ... We're not going to hermetically seal this country," he told Fox News Sunday. |
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Elver
Valued Member Joined: June 14 2008 Status: Offline Points: 7778 |
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If our hospitals cannot even keep staph infection out of the hospitals, how the heck are they going to keep Ebola germs out?
My mother in law had MRSA in the nursing home a few days after the guy across the hall got it. She was treated with antibiotics, but at no time afterwards did anyone clean anything in her room, but the floor. These people are absolutely stupid not to wipe down the door knobs that she used all the time as well as her TV tray, remote control, bed rails, and everything in the bathroom. When I asked the manager of the nursing facility when the last time they disinfected the exercise equipment he said he didn't know, but they did it that afternoon. If you think cleaning after an Ebola patient is going to be much better, think again. Utter stupidity and laziness rule the earth right now. |
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CRS, DrPH
Expert Level Adviser Joined: January 20 2014 Location: Arizona Status: Offline Points: 26660 |
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I may have spoken too soon! I believe that the immediate care he was given while still in Africa helped his chances of survival a great deal. I was amazed that he was able to walk into the Emory clinic under his own power!! I believe that both Dr. Brantly and Ms. Writebol were given this experimental Z-MAPP therapy, which may have made all the difference in the world! The nation's anti-terror infrastructure is like a tightly wound spring, we've been planning & rehearsing for this stuff long before 9/11. |
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CRS, DrPH
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