Second Ebola case confirmed.

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QuickSilver

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http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/220503-second-us-ebola-case-confirmed

“A health care worker at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital who provided care for the Ebola patient hospitalized there has tested positive for Ebola in a preliminary test at the state public health laboratory in Austin,” the Texas Department of State Health Services
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said in a statement.The healthcare worker treated Thomas Eric Duncan, the first patient diagnosed with Ebola in the United States.
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Scary... but not particularly surprising.
 

All this type of publicity is going to make those care givers have second thought before caring for an ebola patient.
 

Loved the stunned look on the faces of the officials making the announcements on the news this morning. Yep great containment measures all in place, no worries. The worker did something wrong, we'll find what she did wrong and nip it in the bud. :thumbsup:

Honestly, I'm not panicked, most people I know aren't so far either, but it's understandable if some people may be. Some of public's trust is waning at this point, so, I hope those in charge of handling these matter do nip this in the bud as soon as humanly possible.

From what I gathered from listening to reports this morning, over in the african locations where the medical teams treat and care for the patients, the steps taken, the training that went in to the procedures are very specialized and possibly they in a polite way were saying the procedures here might have been a bit more mutt and jeff in comparison which may possibly have led to this near impossible contamination.
 
A lot of people don't realize how hard and/or uncomfortable to work in even those disposable white protective suits/overalls. It's one thing to suit up for a procedure for a couple of hours it's another to wear them all day. They are hot, they might itch, they might literally rub someone the wrong way. They literally need to have anyone who will care for an Ebola patient in protective gear practice for a few days doing EVERYTHING in those suits & gear. And if they have to redo them every time they need a drink or a bathroom so be it.

I wonder if this worker treated the first Ebola patient before he was diagnosed. For now it sounds like a procedure mishap. This is what happens with health care workers there to punch a clock for a check which is actually the norm. The clock punchers will be the first to screw up because their goal is to complete the shift and easy as possible which she probably did thousands of times.
 
I am surprised that a nurse caught it form this patient, when she must have been dressed in protective gear.Of course if she later took off the gear and then did not wash her hands....?
 
oakapple said:
I am surprised that a nurse caught it form this patient, when she must have been dressed in protective gear.Of course if she later took off the gear and then did not wash her hands....?
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In the theoretical world if the suit and gear was removed properly there should be no germs. When removing the suit you have to think like it's a chess game in other words think about what is going to be touching what. There should be an order or sequence of gear to remove. It would best if there was a second person helping also in gear.
 
As I said, the teams in Africa have strict procedures they follow in putting on and removing those suits to avoid contamination, this is one of the things that was addressed on the news that they are saying this facility may not have had the in depth training as to how to make sure to avoid contamination, it is how they've been able to avoid the many medical workers contracting the disease for so long. The Americans over in Africa, that haven't been so lucky, were mostly in contact out of those uniforms when they had contact with patients at some point, somewhere protocol was lost or they just didn't know that particular person was infected.
 
oakapple said:
I am surprised that a nurse caught it form this patient, when she must have been dressed in protective gear.Of course if she later took off the gear and then did not wash her hands....?
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Actually, she was NOT in protective gear at all... It was from Duncan's first visit to the hospital when he was sent home because they didn't make the connection that he could have had ebola.. He was treated using only the standard precautions used for any patient with the flu or viral illness. He then returned to the hospital several days later.. by then they had figured out what they were dealing with.
 
QuickSilver said:
Actually, she was NOT in protective gear at all... It was from Duncan's first visit to the hospital when he was sent home because they didn't make the connection that he could have had ebola.. He was treated using only the standard precautions used for any patient with the flu or viral illness. He then returned to the hospital several days later.. by then they had figured out what they were dealing with.
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That's what I'm thinking but not what the news is reporting. The bulk of the "expert" speculation which is fresh is leaning towards glove removal in one form or another.
 
All I can say try to remember the last time you had to wear a different uniform or clothing for a job.

I remember working for companies that just wanted work boots then wanted steel toe work boots. You wouldn't believe how long it took for many to not only buy them but wear on a regular basis. Some wound up basically ignoring that rule all the time. If seen casual environments go to tie and others get less formal-you can tell some are just not comfortable in polo shirt. Point being we are creatures of habit. Give some one a few days of classes on/in hazmat gear I guarantee you that's not enough time to adjust for many. They'll feel uncomfortable, clumsy and/or simply unable to do or focus on the job. I'd bet a procedure or step was skipped more than once.
 
Guarantee there is going to be a few more U.S.ebola cases before this month is over.

We better get a handle on this virus soon or we're screwed.
 
I don't know about being "screwed", but I agree there will be more cases. What I didn't realize was that there are only 9 available beds in the four hospitals fully equipt to handle something as virulent as Ebola. THREE of those nine beds are occupied..... the two nurses, and the free lance reporter. So we are only set up for six more cases. I'm not comfortable with that. I have just made 4 phone calls to express that... including one to the White House comment line. We need a travel ban.
 
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