Does everyone see the protective equipment Dr. Gupta is donning here?! DO YOU SEE IT?! Okay, good. THIS IS WHAT IVE BEEN HARPING ON. It is NOT close contact with infected fluids -- like swimming in vomit or secretions or blood. DROPLETS. Droplets can get anywhere on your personal protective equipment, and then theres contamination. Even with the most ideal amount of, and controlled, exposure, as Dr. Gupta is demonstrating, A SEASONED AND WELL-RESPECTED HEALTHCARE EXPERT, there is simply NO guarantee that exposure is not going to happen when in the vicinity of an infected patient. Now, my emphasis is EXTRA EMPHASIZED because Im seriously SICK of the media and CDC and government officials trying to tell people that this isnt a concern for them and that things are under control. SO WHAT IF THEY ARE?! The best defense is a good offense, and being informed is PARAMOUNT. Now. Dont panic. My informational post is below. Read and learn. >>>>>>>>>>>>> ***I will continue to post/repost this status and about this topic until official entities start acknowledging how serious this outbreak truly is. Before dismissing it, I would ask that you read it through and, at the very least, learn more about the virus than you may right now.*** The CDC has released an infographic with only half-truths about how Ebola is transmitted. While it is not airborne, and is only transmitted via bodily fluids, the spittle that people shed anytime they open their mouths is enough to transmit, which is why anyone within 3 feet (1 meter) of an infected person must take respiratory precautions (more on this in the WHO link below). There was a study done (the link of a write-up from The Scientist, article written in 2012, is below) in which pigs and monkeys were placed in the same room, and the pigs transmitted the virus to the monkeys without ever having come into “close contact” with their bodily fluids, which has largely been touted as the only way to transmit by the media, and now the CDC (on the public scale). An excerpt from the article: In pigs, Ebola mainly infects the lungs and airways, which makes them well-suited to spreading the virus through the air. To see if this was possible, Kobinger teamed up with Hana Weingartl from the University of Manitoba. They used nose swabs to infect piglets with Zaire Ebola, then placed them in a room with four cynomolgus macaques. The monkeys lived inside a wire cage within the pig pen, so the two species never made direct contact despite sharing living quarters. (The Scientist, see link below) I know the infographic is meant to prevent panic, but it would be ideal if mainstream media would get properly informed and acknowledge this (even if out of concerns ONLY for their own loved ones), note that suspected patients are treated under droplet precautions (at LEAST), and inform the public of how to REALLY protect themselves, beyond washing their hands. It is doubtful that this WILL happen, but a girl (nurse/public health student/aspiring medical and public health expert) can dream. In the meantime: Dallas friends, spread the word and protect yourselves and loved ones. To everyone: be vigilant and arm yourselves with all the information (scientific) that you can find. While the CDC can still be trusted on many things, ignore this INCREDIBLY misleading misinformation, and explore the links below to see what Im speaking of. cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/pdf/infographic.pdf (infographic) vdh.virginia.gov/epidemiology/surveillance/hai/documents/pdf/DropletPrecautionsCareProviders.pdf (information on droplet precautions) who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs103/en/ (The Scientist article) “When in close contact (within 1 metre) of patients with EBV, health-care workers should wear face protection (a face shield or a medical mask and goggles), a clean, non-sterile long-sleeved gown, and gloves (sterile gloves for some procedures).” (excerpt from WHO fact sheet on Ebola) who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs103/en/ “Ebola does things to people that you do not want to think about. The organism is too frightening to handle, even for those who are comfortable and adept in BIOHAZARD SUITS. Many do not care to do research on Ebola because they do not want Ebola to do research on them.” – Richard Preston, THE HOT ZONE, Chapter 5, pg. 45 (emphasis my own) *It is worth noting that the strain causing the current outbreak differs from Ebola Zaire, though it is in the same species. Viruses do mutate, and these mutations are an evolutionary tactic geared toward self-preservation. There has been some speculation that Ebolavirus could actually become an airborne agent at some point in the future, but with the efforts that are being made currently, hopefully it will not happen with this outbreak.
Posted on: Wed, 15 Oct 2014 05:23:32 +0000
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