[iron]

i'm not feeling all that great about the current situation - which is way opposite of my normal M.O.

[joker]

It's a scary disease. A few countries in Africa, countries with very inadequate medical systems, are being horrifically hammered. It's scary how easily things like this can spurt around the globe via air travel. However, it appears that this is a disease that can be much better contained via careful measures than airborne diseases such as the flu. The mind can reel with concerns about mutations, a simple hop to some animal host on our continent, perhaps it's not as straightforward as is thought to keep healthcare workers safe via careful containment strategies, etc. etc. But for now, it appears we have many other diseases to be even more concerned about here in WA. If we can't help those countries in Africa get this under control, though, it will both be even more awful there, and our risk will rise as well. Hospitals in the US (and around the rest of the world) do need to get on the stick regarding training for how to handle cases.

[meandering Wa]

it is so viremic. If people working under tight bio-hazard conditions ( optimal) are getting exposure this is bad news that a second nurse is spiking a fever is bad. news that she was allowed to fly is worse. i foresee a total shut-down of people being allowed to travel outside the West Africa countries without going through a 1 month quarantine of some kind. Countries are going to start shutting their doors.

[Daryl]

I'm very concerned that the care takers were allowed to fly days after taking care of #1. That's just shocking. originally they said it was less contagious than aids/hiv. If so, how did two care takers using "protocols" get it? Either they grossly underestimated it or they are not on the ball.

[Doppelganger]

[NacMacFeegle]

I'm not concerned. Ebola is a problem in Africa because of the poor living conditions. I doubt if it will spread very far in America given our far superior sanitation.

[iron]

[joker]

[Malachai Constant]

It appeared the doctors were wearing full suits but the nurses were giving gowns and taped on gloves.

[Bedivere]

Yes, I'm concerned. The fact that two nurses who treated the patient have contracted it, despite what I would imagine are stricter than normal decontamination procedures, is disturbing. Yes, I understand they weren't following all the right protocols for dealing with this disease, but the fact that such strict protocols are necessary is kind of scary. The infectiousness AND severity of this disease is very concerning. If it mutates and ends up being transmissible through the air, we're screwed. I'm concerned that the government and CDC don't really seem to be up to speed on how to stop the spread in this country, let alone in Africa and/or aren't telling us the whole story. I'm concerned that they're concerned about the people who were on the same flight as this second nurse. If it's not transmissible until symptoms are present, what's to be concerned about? I'd like to think our vastly superior (to West Africa) healthcare system in this country will be able to deal with it, but time will tell. Without shutting down all international travel it won't be possible to contain it to Africa and shutting down international travel isn't about to happen. And, even if it did, it would essentially be the rest of the world saying "good luck with that" to Africa. OTOH - there's also a media frenzy surrounding this right now so there's going to be lots of pandering and fear mongering too. Keep calm and try to filter through the hype, if possible.

[RichP]

I'm concerned because I'll be traveling to Argentina soon where they are not prepared should it arrive there.

[contour5]

[Malachai Constant]

We have had friends in Ghana where there are no cases and they have sealed the borders from neighboring countries.

[Ski]

we're all gonna die

[More Cowbell]

I received an email from someone who said the Parks Dept had an announcement that a case of Ebola was in King Country already but they were keeping it under wraps to avoid hysteria. This could be bogus info or credible info. One good bit of advice I've heard is to get a flu shot to avoid freaking out if you get a fever and it's just the flu.