Ebola case in Glasgow

[AttitcusFinchIsMyFather]

news.sky.com/story/1399419/glasgow-healthcare-worker-diagnosed-with-ebola

We have a fantastic NHS though, so sure there is no need to worry. Hope those on the plane with him arent at risk though.

I'm sorry Bair I don't agree with you

Why we are allowing people to return from high risk countries without any quarantine is beyond me!
Yes it's all very noble to be out there helping and saving lives but why risk others when you return

Btw I'm an ITU nurse so may be expected to care for Ebola victims

I imagine the NHS will be swamped with fellow travellers. The early symptoms of Ebola are so similar to the common cold and there's no shortages of colds in Glasgow at the moment.

As a former aid worker, I wouldn't have had a problem if there was a quarantine period before I returned home from somewhere at risk. I'm guessing the reason that hasn't been implemented is a lack of resources and a lack of perceived risk.

Here's hoping this brave woman and her family (if affected) are soon safe and well.

Yy to quarantine! Have just been having this conversation with DH.

Morning all,

We have moved this thread over to our Ebola topic now.

The royal free hospital is the only hospital in the uk with experience of caring for someone with Ebola. Scottish nationalism/ pride is not a good enough reasons not to send a very sick person to England. The royal free know how to manage infection of this deadly disease.

I doubt the average intensive care nurse will be asked to look after Ebola patients in the near future. I think you are safe mozzchops.

People are of course screened before leaving outbreak countries.

From what I heard, the woman was not symptomatic during travel, but woke up with possible symptoms the following day (yesterday). Ebola is not infectious until symptomatic, and is characterised by rapid onset to debilitating level (one of the reasons why it doesn't spread well, as the infectious patient really isn't up to going anywhere). So if there is risk to anyone, it'll be those (if anyone) with her overnight as highest risk.

She recognised the potential of the symptoms, and called them in straight away and has been in isolation since.

For those who want quarantine, where, who and for how long? All travellers from outbreak countries? Three weeks in individual isolation before exit? How is that going to be paid for in a country where there is no money and the international community is still short of the contributions required to handle the outbreak itself?

Not sure where your professional judgement comes from but we have a dedicated negative pressure room for this.

All staff have been trained on how to use it, and all have had proper PPE fitted via fit tests

Yes but isn't that more for the tiny chance it manages to spread? I mean there's a specialist hospital for this stuff. It's not like Jury duty where random nurses get called up. They're bothering to take someone from Glasgow to London for treatment, they won't just treat them in any old hospital. Odd of there being more infected than they can treat in London is tiny.

You've been trained as the contingency. Plus, then they can say, yes all trained to deal with, all equipped, and people stop freaking the fuck out so much.

Nice in theory but at the point where it becomes more than a handful of cases and local major hospitals have to deal with ebola patients what happens then?

It'll be like the swine flu episode only far far worse.
We're not equipped for this at all

Ebola is transmitted by direct contact with the bodily fluids – such as blood, vomit or faeces - of an infected person while they are showing symptoms. The risk of Ebola being passed from an individual before they developed symptoms is extremely low.

FLU viruses are made up of tiny particles which can spread through tiny droplets which come out of your nose and mouth when you cough or sneeze. If you do not cover your mouth when coughing or sneezing the virus spreads when others inhale these droplets.

It will be nothing like swine flu. Are you actually a nurse? Cos you read like a tabloid.

Thank you for the lesson in the differences between flu and ebola

My post wasn't meant like that. What I meant was we weren't prepared for that and the toll it took on intensive care units, and we're not prepared for this either

Thank you for educating me though

You're welcome. Really.

There are viruses every bit as deadly as Ebola. For example plague in Madagascar. Intensive care wards have to prepare for all eventualities. At the moment Ebola is not out of control in Scotland or England. Bio terrorism is more of a risk than a nurse coming home from Seria leone.

There are other hemorrhagic fever viruses that kill as well. Most people would not present themselves at the gp or and e with a sore throat. This woman has had experience of Ebola and knew the early symptoms.

In Dallas and Spain there were a few cases becauses of lack of knowledge. Even then Ebola has been brought under control because these countries have decent resources.

I admire people who ride their lives for people in a different country that they don't know. They deserve our care and support.

The news report I saw last night said that she had, had her temperature taken at London before being allowed to fly as a precaution and she was fine and showing no symptoms and it was believed she had only been in contact with one person since displaying symptoms. As Ebola is only contagious after the appearance of symptoms and it is not an airborne disease the risk to others was minimal.
She is being sent to the other hospital as they have treated another Ebola case and that Pearson has returned to Africa since his treatment to continue working.

I'm sure the last thing this woman wanted to do was put her partner/family/fellow travellers at risk. Quarantine would be the only way to avoid such a situation but the problem is both the expenses involved in establishing a quarantine procedure (eg accommodation,etc) and also crisis situations are always very fluid especially when there is an international response.
Although first responders on the ground will stay in an area for a period of time; international co-ordinators will regularly fly in and out to assess need, allocate resources, etc.
Aid agencies can allocate resources to establish quarantine procedures for their staff. It means less finances available for medicine, etc, as there is only one pot but they do have a responsibility to their staff both medically and psychologically.

Actually ebola is also spread by droplets the same as the flu and norovirus. That is why you are considered at high risk of infection if you have been within 6 feet of an infected individual for a prolonged period of time.

It seems that this woman went to the hospital as soon as her symptoms appeared though so I think there is little risk of her infecting others.

Bair admiration for health workers is not incompatible with wanting good disease control

really tired there was 1 case in Spain and 2 in the US, all of healthcare staff treating "imported" cases. AFAIK they haven't found out how those 3 actually got infected - there was loads of speculation but I don't think the precise mistake/ mechanism / moment has been established.

CDC information page on how Ebola is spread

Ebola is not an airborne disease, spread primarily by coughing and sneezing, like the flu. It is spread by body fluids; so only if you are right up close to someone that you get big liquid sneeze splatter directly on you is there a risk. And of course, sneezing is not a symptom of Ebola.

The nurse felt ill before boarding the Glasgow bound plane. Her temperature was checked several times. It was obviously under 37.5 so they let her travel. But to me the significant point is she felt ill.
The disease is supposed to be transmitted only by bodily fluids so as she should have been wearing protective suit etc to care for patients - how did she catch it. If she caught it at a Christmas church service then we should all be very worried.
And we have I believe 7 special isolation beds in the UK 4 at Royal Free and the others in Leeds and Newcastle.
So if this disease were to spread at even a tenth of the rate it has in Africa we are in big trouble.
Google the numbers and predicted rates for 2016.