Ebola.

[TheLovelyBoots]

I'm quite nervous. AIBU?

The noro outbreak was before the games started, possibly before there were any athletes in the village.

The missing athlete has now been found and both the athletes who were tested both came back negative. Though I was at the athletics last night and the SL relay team didn't show. Nothing about them being missing though.

Dr Brantly has arrived back in the US.

Ebola is a horrible disease but it's only slightly more contagious than an STD and due to the structure of the virus it has about as much chance of going airborne as I have of growing wings. This outbreak would have been over months ago with just a small bit of education - most people have caught it while caring for sick relatives or preparing their bodies for burial. That simply wouldn't happen here.

I work in a hospital and they sent out an email to all staff on Friday. Anyone who comes in with a fever above 38 degrees and has recently been to West Africa or had contact with bodily fluids from someone who had been to West Africa recently is to be quarantined and anyone going in to their room has to wear gloves, masks, goggles and waterproof surgical gowns. The NHS is prepared for ebola and being massively over cautious - we're far more likely to have a load of people with malaria in private rooms than actually see a case of ebola.

That is very cautious QS! I think its a lot stricter than WHO requires. The nhs does have a good track record of being proactive in potential infectious disease outbreaks.

So glad ive

Oops...so glad I've found u all on here. I've been so anxious about this these last few days, thanks to DMs scaremongering articles on Wednesday. Can't eat, cant sleep. When I do sleep I wake with the worst anxiety. However, I have read loads from experts about this and am reassured that should it come to the UK we could deal effectively with it. It has ruined the last three days of my holidays though as I just can't stop thinking and reading. I was the same with nvCJD and HIV so excessive worrying is not unusual for me. All of you have provided excellent points and nice to see u all make educated points unlike most of the people commmenting on paper articles and stirring up fear.

Queenstromba...you have really reassured me. Do u mind me asking where in the country you work?

not read the whole thread, but the whole 'UK can cope with this and can keep it under control' doesn't ring true for me. My FIL died due to an outbreak of MRSA in hospital, which they couldn't control. Why should we believe they will be able to control an outbreak of Ebola ? It is very scarey.

I don't think it's quite the same as MRSA. Although I can see where there are parallels.

Further to my post above I realise how utterly selfish I sound. I feel also terribly for thise suffering this cruel disease. How terrible it must be when u see a loved one die and how frightening it must be to think you too may get it. I can only admire the work health agencies a s workers are doing. 10 times the person I'll ever be.

I don't think you sounded selfish at all. I think it's natural to be a little worried. And it's not helped by the fact that some areas of the media (not just the DM) are trying to scaremonger rather than explain why the risks are so low for th UK.

I guess scaremongering keeps people buying their trash. I'm going with everything the experts say, not trashy newspapers now, although when your as anxious as me and looking for reassurance it can be hard to resist.

I posted something on another thread or possibly this one that had some sensible advice on it. Will try and see if I can find it.

I dont think we have to worry to much about an outbreak here.

That dr that has been brought back to atlanta for treatment, how would he of got the ebola?

Who knows but maybe he was tired (must be extremely stressful) and even though he thinks he followed procedure he actually made a tiny error. Pleased to read on bbc he's making good progress Also America is sending a further 50 health profs to africa to help.

apparently theyre very overstretched and under resourced, maybe he reused a gown/ small error

I read US testing a vaccine in September, so they must have stuff in the pipeline , they will get lots of samples from Dr B I'm sure

He is a total hero. they all are.

It's possible he didn't catch it from one of his patients.

Sensible advice wld be gratefully recieved RafalTKOC!

DM - more ridiculous reportage...in a nutshell

WOMAN FROM AFRICA DIES AFTER GETTING TO GATWICK EBOLA* FEARS ETC ETC ETC
*woman did not have ebola

I know. Not just the DM either. I admit though if I'd been on a plane and she had been one of the passengers I'd have been terrified.

I hope the people it's affected get the best treatment. However, I'm getting a bit fed up of this scaremongering. bird flu and then Swine flu was meant to wipe out half the world's population. So I don't buy into these scares now.

This is reassuring. Hope he's right for all those people suffering. www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/11011403/Ebola-outbreak-end-of-epidemic-could-be-in-sight-says-scientist.html

if it is not easy to catch, not airborne etc.. then why would there be 8 suspected cases now among the doctors and nurses in lagos who treated that businessman from Liberia who died after getting off then plane?

8? I can buy that one or two may have inadvertently come into contact with bodily fluids but given that they would wear gloves etc..for other blood borne diseases how on earth is the number is high as 8 in the medical staff? it would suggest it far easier to catch then we are being told.

I've been keeping an eye on that. Some reports say that 5 are asymptomatic and being quarantined as a precaution.
I think they didn't expect Sawyer to have ebola. There are reports that even when he was sick he was adamant that he had had no contact with ebola and that it wasn't that. He was on two flights and the second one was from Togo where there there are no reports of ebola.

I think they dropped the ball and didn't use sufficient ppe. What we should draw comfort from is that there are no reports from it being seeded to other countries by people on his flights. It indicates that whilst it is very contagious in its final stages, it is not very contagious up until that point.

This worried me too. But imagine a passenger arriving and collapsing at an airport. A normal reaction would be to help him immediately, most likely without first getting proper protective gear. Anyhow it's all suspected at the moment and not confirmed. Don't forget the numbers if those infected is still relatively small and if that contagious it would be everywhere. I trust the bbc mostly now and will only panic when they do. Nobody else I know seems too concerned. We've been here before. Fingers crossed they will get on top of it. We are not experts so all this second guessing is fruitless I guess. If u are worried do as I did and donate to help them kill it at source! On the plus side, glad to hear BA has stopped flights to liberia and sierra leone til end august.