Another Can Of Worms 10/16/14

 

Sometimes it is the little things in life that
make the biggest differences.  This
couldn’t be more true when it comes to the treatment and containment of Ebola
in the world.  When the Ebola outbreak
occurred in Africa most of us here in the United States did not think it would
affect us and we were not all that concerned. Now it is here in the United
States and other countries around the world and it is time to be concerned.

 

The reason I say it is time to be concerned is
not because it is here in the United States. 
The reason we need to be concerned is the way the Ebola crisis is being
handled.  When Thomas Duncan was admitted
to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas with symptoms consistent with
Ebola he was not isolated and was allowed to come in contact with many other
people.  The staff at the hospital was
not trained or prepared to deal with this kind of situation.  This resulted in two nurses becoming infected
and who knows how many more will become infected and die because of this.  Even after Duncan was diagnosed with Ebola,
proper protocol was not followed because there wasn’t any. 

 

The Center for Disease Control is suppose to be
responsible for the spread of contagious diseases in the United States and they
were not prepared nor did they provide the oversight, control, and enforcement
measures appropriate for this type of situation.  This is the first case of Ebola in this
country and I can understand that most hospitals and staff are not trained or
equipped to handle something like this. 
That is why the CDC should have stepped in quickly and provided the leadership
and control necessary to control the spread of this deadly disease.

 

The more we are finding out in the news about
the problems that occurred, the poor decision making that was made,  and the all the details of what took place
the more concerned we should become.  The
fact that the second nurse that came down with Ebola boarded a plane and flew
from Dallas to Cleveland to visit her mother and fiancé knowing she had been in
contact with Thomas Duncan, and that she was coming down with a fever is a good
example of this.  Even an untrained
person , let alone a nurse, should have had more common sense than to do
something that stupid …. increasing the risk of spreading the disease all
across the country and to her mother and fiancé.

 

If Ebola is allowed to spread across the United
States it could infect and kill thousands of people.  This is serious and can affect anyone that
travels and touches anything that an infected person has touched.  The greatest fear is for the health and
safety of the people, but it would also have a devastating impact on our
fragile economy.  Could this get to the
point that travel would be restricted and schools and businesses would close?
This is no little thing and we need to start taking it seriously.