To think that anyone coming to the UK from Africa should be tested for Ebola before they touch down on British soil?

[SuperWifeANDMum]

Just that really.

I really hope the government is doing all they can to prevent this disease coming to the uk.

Not touching your face is a pretty good idea, too.

Hand washing is just general infection control.

Namex - ok, worry about it. Use your energy, emotion and mental health on it. As I've said, I don't think it's necessary and am happy to be flamed when there's a pandemic.

Or don't. Just don't worry about things that aren't worth worrying about. I think life is better and easier not worrying about things that won't happen.

I am not sure how much mental health and strain people are going to use up worrying about it, because I am not them.

However I am quite sure no one on this thread is in a heap having a panic attack shivering with fear biting their nails and flushing tranqs down their neck then struggling back to the keyboard.

But if it makes you feel better to think that is what people might be doing Mrs B .....advise away .

I assume most people are keeping one eye on the news and thinking about all the other disesases we stamped out like Tb coming back...how maybe ebola could get in....in a sort of idle way really

No.
Hand washing will not prevent a single case of Ebola.
But good hand washing (warm running water, soap, rubbing) will prevent the vast majority of infectious illnesses we should be worrying about.

Beyond: No, I don't hope anyone is doing that but this is one of many threads that have been on MN in the last few months.

I think that even a quick thought of what if? Is not really necessary for people in the UK so the fact that there are threads every few weeks (with people agreeing) about the worry of ebola then I think too many people are worrying about a non problem in the UK.

I'm not a troll. I just know how debilitating anxiety is and how irrational it often is so I'm not going to not give an alternative perspective when a lot of people are clearly (in my opinion) getting anxious with no real reason.

Hmmm. Atm we are seeing cases multiplying exponentially in Liberia and Sierra Leone; they are hideously poor countries, with virtually no infrastructure, fluid borders, and a suspicious and supertitious population. Right now, it's still contained, however if it continues to spread at the rate it currently is, we are going to see what little medical aid there is out there completely overwhelmed.

I'm not so sure that then it can be stopped, and then we could very possibly see cases here. And tbh I have very little faith in our ability to manage that successfully. I don't think it will take much for our medical structure to be, in turn, overwhelmed

Yes of course there is no better possible use for the many many millions of pounds that would cost eh? Leave Africa to stew in their own blood, vomit and faeces and were alright Jack???

Hey? Why not spend that amount of money on sorting out the Teri le conditions that are propagating the virus in the first place?

Just an idea
and I tried not to swear

*terrible

Yeah, I think the OP grasped that one about 10 pages back.

Hand washing will not prevent a single case of Ebola.
But good hand washing (warm running water, soap, rubbing) will prevent the vast majority of infectious illnesses we should be worrying about

What infectious illnesses are you talking about, that an average healthy person in a western country would potentially die from, but hand washing will stop from spreading?

Influenza.

Noro virus (sorry, posted too soon)
Noro will not be killed by ant-bac hand gels etc, one virus is enough to make a person ill, it survives on surfaces.

Handwashing under running water is what's needed.

Most cold viruses spread either by droplets (nothing much you can do if somebody coughs or sneezes all over you) or by people covering their mouthes when they cough and then not wash their hands before they shake your hand or touch a door handle or offer you a sandwich.

Handwashing

Yes but surely an average person who is fit and well is not likely to die from the flu.

I agree its good practice to protect more vulnerable people.

That'll depend on the particular Influenza virus involved

You beat me to it PD. Google cytokine storm.

If it was as simple as washing your hands then how come the healthcare workers are wearing hazmat suits?

I wondered that, too formerbabe

According to this article www.scientificamerican.com/article/ebola-doctor-reveals-how-infected-americans-were-cured the 26 healthcare staff at Emory caring for the two infected US missionaries were able to use fairly low-tech protection ie just gloves and gowns, goggles, face masks, and footwear coverings without any of them becoming infected because they were working in a state of the art Infectious Diseases Unit, in the USA, The regular supply and cost of all the single-use disposable protection would not be an issue.

In contrast at the very basic but well organised MSF Ebola Isolation units in W Africa where hazmat suits are the norm there isn't even running water let alone high temperature autoclaves to sterilise virus-contaminated waste prior to disposal by incineration hence the reliance Also, the hazmat suits can be used many times over at a lower cost and supplies are so much more difficult.

The US is going to start temp testing people coming in from infected countries m.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-29541840

Yes, interesting. I heard that on the news this morning.

I am interested to see how that is going to work in RL tbh.

SKY are reporting that a further announcement is expected soon about screening.

I'm really not sure how it would work: there are few direct flights, and I don't know how you could identify who you need to screen when passengers will have come through a third country.

I wonder if there is anything that can be done to improve exit screening from affected countries?

BBC article on introduction of screening

Though it doesn't say how it will be possible to establish whether people arriving in UK have been in outbreak countries in the previous 21 days. Anyone know?

I still don't see how this can work.

The initial symptoms of Ebola are very mild and non-specific: a temperature and a mild headache. There will be many, many more people with these symptoms arriving who are about to come down with a common cold or similar.
Ebola is not contagious until symptomatic - so asymptomatic people could be entering the country to only later fall ill and become infectious.

The whole 'screening' idea smacks to me of PR exercise tbh - I am not all convinced that it would make one iota of a difference.