So a few months ago the country was enthralled with the idea of a few patients, infected with the Ebola virus, coming to the United States. Up until this point, we had been safe from Ebola due to the fact that bats can’t fly over the Atlantic. Some people were completely indifferent, while others had seen Outbreak one too many times. Most were a healthy mix, somewhere in between, but what bothered me the most was both the lack of education and the poor information that was spreading more virulently than the virus could ever hope to.
First, I want to stress that I am a nurse, not a virologist, and hopefully throughout my post you will see that I am not pretending to be one. I have a Bachelor’s in Nursing and am currently a graduate student. I have worked extensively with Infectious Disease Specialists. I have been exposed to almost every infectious disease known to the modern world. I have taken courses in Biology, Microbiology, Anatomy, Physiology, Pathophysiology, Advanced Pathophysiology, Pharmacology, and an assortment of others. However, I am not and will not pretend to be an expert, just an experienced professional. When it comes to an epidemic of any sort, my first focus is on the patient, protecting and healing them, my second focus is on protecting the community. I don’t care about which strain does what, or what we can do with in lab. As a nurse, I concern myself with the current patient and future possible patients. I feel the first thing we should examine is Ebola itself. It is foreign to the US, both literally and figuratively. What it does to people and how it harmonizes with nature are both things that most westerners have little concept of. It is a virus, not a bacteria. This means that it is not its own organism. It is actually much smaller and basic than you can imagine. It is nothing more than a few pieces of DNA/RNA and some proteins. No cell wall, no cytoplasm, no metabolic functions. This is both their advantage and their downfall. Viruses require a host. For this example I will use the HIV virus. HIV gets into the human body and invades the host’s white blood cells, T4 cells to be exact but I won’t get that involved. The proteins help get the virus into the cell and those few small sequences of DNA/RNA write themselves into the host DNA/RNA. Now instead of the white blood cell attacking invaders, it is nothing more than an HIV factory. All of its metabolic functions are redirected at producing more of the virus, which pours out of the white blood cell like a sieve until eventually the host cell dies. This is why HIV infected patients have poor immune systems. The virus re-writes the DNA of the host cells. This is not something we can stop. New viruses are pouring out of the white blood cells at a rate of millions a day. We cannot filter them out. We cannot “kill” a little chunk of DNA and we don’t know enough about the human genome to correct the DNA sequences. This is why a lot of viral infections like HIV, Herpes, and Hepatitis are life long infections. HIV invades the white blood cells, Herpes invade the nerve roots, and Hepatitis invades the liver.
Now that we have a better grasp of viruses, we will focus on Ebola a bit more. In tropical Africa, Ebola naturally lives in bats. It is nice to the bats and doesn’t cause them many issues. It is rumored that there are many viruses humans carry our entire lives and have no idea because they show zero symptoms. Therefore, they have never been studied. If this sounds crazy, just remember that it was in recent years the we discovered there was a virus behind cervical cancer. A virus that men can carry and spread without ever knowing they have it. Where the problem arises is that in tropical Africa, people like to eat bats. Sometimes they get infected with Ebola and it spreads. This process is called Zoonosis and can be true of bacteria or viruses. Racoons carry Rabies, Armadillos carry Leprosy, Birds carry the Flu, Bats carry Ebola.
When I said Westerners don’t really understand Ebola, the primary aspect that I am talking about is the patient. We don’t ever see what Ebola does. Our media is too censored, we hear how many died, and see people in haz-mat suits. Speaking of suits, we’ve all seen the pictures. Rubber gloves are adequate for AIDS and hepatitis, a simple mask (N95) stops Tuberculosis, but this requires space suits, just keep that in mind when you think its no big deal. So here is what happens when you catch Ebola, I figure you’re getting bored with reading right about now, so I’ll spice it up. First the virus gets into your system, I’ll elaborate on that later. Then, it hangs out for a few days, even up to 21, growing, multiplying at a rate of millions a day, and guess what, you’re infectious. Now at this point it would pretty much require a straight blood to blood interaction so the only real threat here is for IV drug users who share needles. Just like with the flu or hand foot and mouth disease, you can be spreading it to others before you show a symptom*(apparently not many see the *, so please read the elaboration at the bottom). Remember, nurse mind set, protect the community. At first it’s not bad, little nausea, some sweating, diarrhea, much like a stomach bug. But then the virus really starts to build up in your liver and adrenal glands, after it has saturated your blood cells, the lining of your vessel, your skin, and bones. Hepatocellular necrosis occurs, which is fancy term for your liver starts to decompose.Your liver is what regulates blood clotting. This causes your blood either clot up and turn to jelly in your veins, stay liquid and bleed profusely, or a combo of both. The adrenal glands then do the same, causing your blood pressure to drop. This requires lots of IV fluids to keep your circulating volume up. At the same time inflammatory cytokines are released which causes vascular leakage. Cells don’t do a good job of holding things together so it all becomes a bloody goop. Anywhere in your body that blood vessels are shallow, like your nose, ears, gums, throat, GI tract, urethra, vagina, rectum, all start oozing fluids and bleeding because the tissues that normally keep it contained are disintegrating. So now you bleed from every orifice, including your eyeballs. Every time someone or something touches you, your tissue gets damaged which further the cycle, so a shot in the arm can turn into a massive blood blister. Those who survive are left with massive scarring. Since the adrenals cannot keep your blood pressure up, and you are losing blood and fluids, we have to put IV fluids in to keep you out of hypovolemic shock. This in turn reduces your blood concentration, lowering your oxygen carrying capacity, which causes your heart to race. So you lay in bed, oozing fluids from everywhere, all while feeling like you just ran a marathon, with bloody diarrhea, oh and did I mention pain? Lots and lots of pain, but you can’t have any pain medicine because your liver and kidneys have failed. This why it pains me when I see this outbreak ONLY has a 50% death rate, when in Africa it is up to 90%…ONLY 50%. That is literally worse than cancer, and people are blowing it off. Imagine if cancer was infectious, and you lived in a country with zero cancer, and someone thought it would be a good idea to fly a few people in. I think there would be a different attitude.
The biggest part of the discussion is how Ebola is spread. I will say two things on the topic, no, it is not airborne, and yes, basic hygiene plays a HUGE factor. But while on the topic of whether it is or is not airborne, the definition of an airborne contagion is one that can freely float in the air, survive lengths of time, and infect someone else. VERY few things fit in this category, most have been eradicated, Small Pox, Tuberculosis, Measles. Things that are also NOT airborne, are the flu and the cold. For the flu, you have to come into direct contact with the patients body fluids. How then, do you explain why people catch it and have no idea how. Well for one, people can spread it before they show symptoms, just like Ebola, and one other HUGE factor…droplets….let that word really sink in. The virus may not be airborne, but the droplets are. I’m going to digress for a second and get back to HIV and Hepatitis, while I let droplets dwell in your mind. Everyone knows that HIV and Hepatitis are spread by blood contact, and sexual fluids, I don’t mean a drop of blood on the skin, or even a mucous membrane, it has to get INSIDE of you. This is why only gloves are required. HIV and Hepatitis are not found in urine, stool (Some forms of hepatitis are, but you have to eat the stool to get infected) saliva, sweat, tears, or mucous. This is where some viruses are different. The flu gets into your mucous and other secretions, Ebola tends to stay in the blood, but remember, every one of your bodily fluids are full of blood now. So a person with the flu sneezes, and now millions of little droplets (remember those guys?) shoot out of their nose at nearly mach 1, all across the room, same for a cough, all it takes is a little microscopic droplet to land in your eye, nose, mouth, or the unlikely scenario of an open wound, and you’ve now been infected, because you came in CONTACT with their bodily fluids. I see the word contact thrown around a lot, but most people think of mass amounts of contact with blood, but what they don’t realize is that contact also includes microscopic mucous and saliva droplets, each one chock full of Ebola. Bacteria can survive for long periods of time without a host because they are their own organism. They can feed on just about anything and be happy. Viruses lifespan without a host is much shorter. Their goal is to infect, replicate, and spread, if they cant replicate, they die. Measles only lives 2 hours. But Ebola, depending on what data you look at, can survive for several days.
So with all this information, lets have some role play, so that you can see exactly what this means, to a nurse, in the real world. Imagine it as a cheesy PSA or lifetime movie. You go to see your doctor because its that time of year, you need some blood drawn and refills of your blood pressure med. You sit patiently in the waiting room, thumbing a magazine while your 2-year-old plays with her toys. Like all two year olds, she touches everything, and everything goes in her mouth, toys, pens, her own fingers. She is a 22 lb drool factory and you love her to pieces. You see the doctor, get your goodies, and go home. A week later your angel starts vomiting blood and within 3 days she dies because her heart raced so fast it finally gave up while trying to maintain a blood pressure. Her eyes are blood red and demonic, her skin falls off in sheets. What you don’t know is that 3 days before your visit, someone thought they had the flu. It is October you see and they sneezed while thumbing through that very same magazine you thumbed through. The same thumb you grabbed her pacifier out of your purse with in the waiting room. The people caring for Ebola patients wear space suits, and burn the bodies, yet it still spreads. Here in America, we have much better protocols, and much better hygiene. So if it spreads, it will be contained much better. Still, it spreads prior to symptoms and survives will outside the body, just like the flu. Despite vaccines and good hand washing, thousands still get the flu every year. But while the flu kills 1-2% of its victims, Ebola kills 50% on a good day, and spreads the same way. So please, do not write it off as hype. It is a real thing and it is here.
The case in Dallas has been confirmed. The patient had contact with five children and adolescents prior to admission. Those five kids attend four of the largest schools in Dallas. One sneeze and we could already have thousands of people, who don’t know it yet, infected.
Thank you for reading. Please feel free to comment.
Symptoms* I have had a lot of comments in regards to this. I picked my words carefully, but I never imagined getting thousands of views an hour, or my article getting picked apart, but I will try to elaborate now. I said spread, the virus, I did not say you were contagious. What I meant by this, was the summation of two concepts. To fully explain everything I could write a book, but this is meant to be short and sweet. The first concept is that of a fomite. We have established that the virus can survive for an unspecified amount of time outside the host, and we have established that sneezing/coughing is a perfectly logical method of transmission. So if patient A is infectious/contagious, they sneeze on patient B, but then patient B goes home and picks up their sisters 1 6 month old, who rubs his face, and licks all over your shoulder, he could very well have just orally consumed large quantities of the virus, therefore become patient C. Patient B never got sick, the virus never entered their system, yet they are responsible for spreading the virus to someone else. This is why the 5 exposed kids are so important, there may only be a 2% chance or whatever that they’ll get sick, but if they went to school, and each rubbed up against 500 kids in the hallways, you now have 2500 exposed kids, 50 of which will statistically become infected, 25 of which will probably die. No I do not have a source for the 2%, that is just an EXAMPLE number used to represent the relatively low likelihood of contracting the virus if exposed, granted the R0 factor of R2 is correct. Remember, heal the patient, PROTECT the community. The second concept of this is defining “symptom”. Lets assume it means anything other than your baseline condition. That means the first signs of being contagious, are also the more mild symptoms, sneezy, achy, nausea, flu-like symptoms. So who is going to wake up, feel a little under the weather, and think, crap, I have Ebola, better get quarantined, no, THAT’S how you start fear mongering and mass panic. Again, flu season is upon us, the initial stages of Ebola are like the flu, and its human nature to be in denial, so many people, if infected, would hope its just the flu and wait it out, they are not showing symptoms indicative of Ebola, but they ARE symptomatic of something, and therefore, by the CDC definition, would be contagious. Its also normal procedure for people to be symptomatic BEFORE seeking medical care, so technically, everyone will be contagious, BEFORE knowing they have Ebola. But like I said before, I omitted this lengthy explanation because I didn’t feel it was necessary for the point of the article.
ADDENDUM: Sadly, I feel the need to point out that the title of this blog is “Ebola, A Nurse’s Perspective”, not “A Nurse’s Guide to Surviving the Apocalypse”, or “How to Become an Ebola Expert in 15 minutes”. It could just as well be “Hamburgers, A Chef’s Perspective” and no one would be hounding me over grammar, a misplaced comma, or wanting citations as to why I say it should be on the grill 5 minutes per side of 7 minutes per side. The point is those things are irrelevant to the goal of the article, this is MY perspective (a particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view.) I don’t have to prove anything, the point of my article is to take what the uneducated (in a medical sense) journalists say, what the talking heads on TV say, and then let you know what the people say who are on the front lines. That’s like discrediting your grandads account of what happened when he stormed Normandy beach, because its not what your history teacher told you. Have I experienced Ebola first hand? Nope, have I experienced a WHOLE lot of other things that the majority of the population has not? You bet your ass I have, and I felt the need to take the time to hopefully help other people out a little. So please keep that in mind, I’m not perfect, but my experiences are my experiences, and I wanted to share them with you, to let you inside the head of a nurse for a minute.
dtolar 
Question…does anyone know what type of precaution gear the nurse in Texas was wearing at the time she treated that patient?? From what I’ve read I’ve assumed contact gown, mask now rather N95 or simple mask I Donno, gloves& possibly googles?? My next question is I’ve been told that CDC will be coming up with new gear for us to wear (I’m in respiratory & CDC has now considered us being at high risk I assume due to intubating.. as I’m sure nurses & so forth are too) within the next week or so…so rumor has it & I’m in GA…does anyone happen to know what that will or could possibly consist of?? My clinical instructor is wanting me to find the answer to both those questions & on my next ICU rotation have an answer. I will say I practiced today w the usual contact gown taking it off by ripping it from front w double gloving (one set bf the gown& one set after gown is on) & it’s fairly difficult to even rip off w out the outside esp around the neck part ( blue plastic type gown not the yellow fabric kind-haven’t practiced w that one) touching you at some point during removal -the outside of it. However, unsure how the CDC would think that’s enough or did in first place… if they did while they have others in full hazmat suits cleaning stuff such as apt. Etc etc. if anyone can answer those two questions would be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks in Advance!!
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My husband who is CBRNE and Decontamination SME says he would wear a Level A and at the very least a level B with triple gloves, full face piece respirator and tape the edges wear the hood meets the mask. ANY seam to expose skin is taped. He said there was a breach in protocol with that hospital and the nurses wearing PPE, not enough taping and wrong PPE or improper decon standards. The news outlets are promoting scaremongoring and false stories. I think ppl who WORK in these conditions that are more likely to contract this SHOULD have a heightened fear and request PROPER PPE to protect themselves properly. My husband has told me not to freak out and until he is bringing home Level A suits for my family to wear, I wont be freaking out. This article is really good in explaining what this virus is and how it effects ppl who get it and raising a better awareness to ppl who work in hospitals.
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Thank You SOooo much for taking the time to explain/respond!! They were telling us try to double glove & after removing the first pair wash the second pair then remove then wash your hands. Technically (though this may not be enforced ) they say HIV can get through the gloves due to the disintegration of the medical gloves or something of that nature from the time of putting them on to taking them off. Therefore, at any trauma (assuming due to shift report we would know present illness /history of any patient unless going to traumas etc) we shouldn’t put them on until we literally are at door -which your suppose to do any way. Triple gloving sounds even better!! As everyone is on edge foremost us students. Thank you BOTH (your husband as well) again!!!!
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Ps. I do know at our local hospitals their now doing questionnaire for patients entering the ER & obviously vitals. However, I only hope with in the next week the CDC gives new PPE requirements to us!! Currently my clinicals are between 3 different hospitals one hospital being a trauma center/educational hospital & we have a good bit of Pts being brought from neighboring counties via air & one of the other ones is located by the Air Force base. Therefore, we’re interacting w ppl from all over. Appreciate your input & now have answer for instructor!!
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Im at a loss for words. How? Alot of rumors out there. I myself have asked, what if? This has got me so stressed, scared, deceived. I have four children, and so afraid. Why? How?, and if they said they are so ready and prepared, has it gone this far. I for one think this is a beginning to a much bigger picture. Alot of u may no exactly what I mean. We have been blind for to long. Deceived! This isnt a situation to over look. Its real life. We must make a stand, get to the bottom of it, destroying the problems and the ones or things that caused this act of evil. To much has been hush hush. Time to make some noise!!!
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I noticed you were having to make corrections and go back and explain more of what you said. Well I just have to tell you, this is the most honest cut to the chase article out there about this topic. Thank you! For all the negatives you may have received, I sure hope you remember this positive and it will be shared. Great article!!!
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My Mom was a registered nurse who graduated OSU iin just 3 years because of an accelerated program for WW-II. She served in many different facets of nursing from Pubic Health nurse to ER nurse to Surgical nurse to School nurse. My Dad was a fireman-paramedic. I was raised to keep myself clean in body, mind and soul.
Our government and those in the CDC are completely out of their minds not issuing travel bans and demanding quarantines in Africa. A disease this serious, and this misunderstood should not be allowed to go mobile.
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Thank you for writing a concise and readable “on the ground” account of the Ebola virus. I have not been able to find something as clear and straightforward as this anywhere else. I feel like it will help me to move forward better informed, yet not terrified of my own shadow. Extremely well done, and thanks again.
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Thank you very much for taking the time to share this! It is very informative. The CDC now wishes they would have done things differently… To me, that speaks volumes! I believe you are right on and are NOT trying to scare people but to educate. How dare people say cruel things to you! You took time out of your day to share this! I for one, TRULY APPRECIATE YOU! The simple truth is, nobody knows when exactly they are contagious or how long it can live outside of a host. It is always better to be safe than sorry! To the people that are criticizing, she didn’t claim to be an infectious disease dr or an English teacher! Please don’t stop educating because of people that have nothing better to do than complain!!!! Thanks again:)
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Thanks for this “perspective” it was very informative on many different levels. I have a better picture of the workings and the hows and whys of ebola. Thank you!
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There is one major point missing in this article. It talks extensively and very in-depth about viruses and their destructive capability. This is the mistake modern medicine makes. They focus on the disease. Instead of focusing on the fact that health is only created from the inside out. “Modern Medicine” has been making this mistake for centuries. In fact–check out the swine flue epidemic of 1918…called the “Mother of all Pandemics.” http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/12/1/05-0979_article Notice how the article is very long and in-depth and talks a lot about the virus and its virulency. They speak not a word of encouraging the body’s innate defense capabilities. But guess what–there WAS a population that fared very well during this epidemic. Those under chiropractic care with the intent to improve neuro-immune response. http://www.planetc1.com/cgi-bin/n/v.cgi?id=1241106609.
A lot is mentioned about HIV and how it works. Again. Some survive HIV, others don’t. In a rather small study (the US gov’t doesn’t like to fund any research beyond drugs) receiving chiropractic, patients under care exhibited a 48% INCREASE in Cd4 cells during this time period of the study. The control group’s CD4 counts dropped.
So the real question we need to start asking is this: how can we support and nurture a properly functioning immune system that can fight this virus?
“Our findings contradict the current view that antibodies are absolutely required to survive infection with viruses like VSV, and establish an unexpected function for B cells as custodians of macrophages in antiviral immunity,” concludes Dr. von Andrian. “It will be important to further dissect the role of antibodies and interferons in immunity …
J. Immunity Mar. 2012
Antibodies Are Not Required for Immunity Against Some Viruses
March 1, 2012. Cell Press “…turns the well established theory that antibodies are required for antiviral immunity upside down and reveals that an unexpected partnership between the specific and non-specific divisions of the immune system is critical for fighting some types of viral infections…”
So if we are to be able to deal appropriately with this virus and have a higher survival rate, my firm belief is that the answer does not lie in a drug, pill, lotion, or potion. The answer lies in encouraging YOUR body’s innate adaptive abilities. We’ve seen chiropractic perform great in all sorts of immunological realms clinically. It’s simply too bad the government will not support funding for more studies. We were superior in the 1918 swine flue pandemic, we’ve shown improvements in HIV patients, and I believe everyone should be checked, and if needed, appropriately adjusted to encourage the body’s innate defense mechanisms to work as well as possible…
Ebola. A former ICU RN/BSN and current Doctor of Chiropractic.
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A very good friend of mine is a chiropractor and we had a long talk about this soon after I posted my article. Thanks for your input
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This is the dumbest reply I’ve ever seen. If you get ebola and decide to go to your chiropractor, that chiropractor won’t have any protective gear on at all. Based on this articles explanation of how the disease spreads, I do believe you will have us all killed in no time with this nonsense.
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I don’t think he is suggesting you go to the Chiro AFTER you are infected. His point was that receiving Chiropractic care regularly can keep your immune system functioning properly and help your body better fight off infections in general. Being proactive, not reactive.
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Thank you so much.. for the first time.. I got it. Damn TV nimrods..Everyone take good care. God Bless
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–As an ER nurse I am very skeptical on what the next few months will bring. SO FRUSTRATED with the CDC et government trying to hide multiple issues – “we don’t have anything to worry about.” BULLSHIT!!!!! I work at 2 hospitals et have heard multiple nurses et MD’s say they will just “go home”– what a mess we are in! Why isn’t the government et CDC taking astronomical steps in attempting to help Americans decrease the disease, fears, lives. So many lies from citizens getting back into the U.S. – don’t think people realize how fast we can wipe out thousands of innocent people! SELF CENTERED!!! So what happens when RN’s, physicians refuse to treat these pts? – So many comments- “not equipped” – WHAT A MESS WE ARE IN! Where is the government et CDC when we really need them to enforce laws, et provide instant education for both the lay people et medical personnel! Feel so helpless in Ohio!
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Thank you for this informative article, no,way will I be criticizing you. I am a dental hygienist and have been worried about my chances of contracting this virus. Universal precautions are our only defense at this pint other than the obvious good hygiene.
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Thank you for taking the time to write that. Atta girl!
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Reblogged this on Wrap With Tiffany and commented:
This is a really great article!
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Thank you for your article I too am an RN, and was a little concerned when I heard a nurse wearing full protective gear contacted the disease.
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There was a breech in protocol with the nurse who contracted it and the level suits they were wearing were a joke, in fact it showed 1 nurse wearing sunglasses upon the patient arriving and the other Dr or nurse shoving his hands inside of his suit WITH gloves on…ummmmm that right there is going against PPE protocol.
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This a very interesting perspective. I wondered what someone who could potentially be on the front lines thought. I figured if it is in every body fluid . . . it could absolutely be spread via coughing and whatnot. The US is not doing enough to protect people. In fact, they are downplaying it instead of making people aware of the risks and doing things to prevent it from coming here – like travel bans. Instead, they are importing it via infected US citizens and letting people from infected countries just walk right in. It’s a virus. It is highly contagious. And it is a coin toss as to whether you survive or die if you become infected.
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Thank you so much for telling the truth! I started looking at this a year ago long befor ebola was an issue I realized we were going to experience an attempt to make war on Americans, using bio weapons, I research ebola tirelessly, then the patent on ebola came out , which was a stupid misteak they made that fully convinced me that the things you describe were in fact going to happen. This is no misteak, this came right out of the refrigirator! America is about to be forced to take a vaccine that doesn’t work they allready used it and the patient died! Mapp vaccine is a hoax! There are things that will help, VFI Humic acid, colloidal, silver and massive disinfected may give you a chance.
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What do we do ,,,,,, why can’t we get theTRUTH .? We need the truth on this thank you for this we need to know more DG god bless
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This is worth reading in different realms. It unveils those questions behind my mind. As a mom of two and deals with different nationalities at work. Thank you and I commend you for sharing your perspective to educate us. May God bless you!
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As a fellow nurse in Florida I greatly appreciate the views and perspective you have provided. I could not agree with you more on the spread and transmission. In fact, that topic has been being discussed at our hospital by our nurses and physicians when Duncan was first diagnosed. Unfortunately the extent of our questioning the hospital protocols only went so far as a kindergarten level picture depiction of how NOT to get Ebola, including coughing, sneezing and sharing food; all of which are potential ways of contracting the virus. It is very real and scary how the government is trying to downplay what is really going on. I have been trying to inform my family and friends and those without a medical background about the true implications of this disease so that they may be armed with some real knowledge. Thank you for putting it all together so eloquently.
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The story about the 5 children in quarenteen is a hoax by a fake news outlet. Good article, but you might want to remove that reference or you might start to lose credibility with all the other good info here.
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Five children from four DISD campuses were possibly exposed to the virus. Miles said none of the students have exhibited any symptoms of Ebola at this time.The superintendent said students at the schools “possibly had contact with the patient” and attended classes at the schools earlier this week. Miles said none of the students have exhibited any symptoms of Ebola at this time.
http://www.wfaa.com/story/news/health/2014/10/01/thompson-dallas-county-ebola-patient-cases/16524303/
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The problem I have with this article is you lead in saying take precautions.. But end saying I can’t tell you what to do really.. So my point is.. Why make an article like this? Why live in fear of Ebola if we do not even know what to do to actually protect ourselves from it? In my opinion the best thing we can do is think positive, not be afraid, stay away from hospitals and sick people, and keep on living as usual..,
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If you want to speak about being “positive” maybe you should start by refraining from making a negative comment on such an informative article. This individual took the time out of their day in order to produce something that can help others to better understand how a virus works and how people can become contaminated. I have no idea what type of work you do, but this individual has a career where they put their self at risk in order to help others. They seem to be very knowledgable with what they are speaking of, but you on the other hand are exemplifying nothing but pure ignorance with your comment. Also I would like to know how to avoid “sick” people. You could be surrounded by sick people and never know it because people often do not show signs or symptoms in the very early stage of an illness. You can not simply look at people and always distinguish if they are ill or not. So, the next time you go out in public maybe you should keep that in mind Einstein.
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Second Ebola nurse traveled on plane with low-grade fever. http://www.wfaa.com/story/news/health/2014/10/15/second-dallas-hospital-worker-diagnosed-ebola/17290677/
Still positive that you can stay away from sick people?
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Thank you very much for your insight and sharing your knowledge. That type of article is exactly what people m
need to have …concise, informative. ..and honest. There is so muh bull outctgere, people don’t know what to believe. I wish you were the voice wechward stvnught…and one of the people making the guidelines. I have only a small fraction of the science back round you do… but from a nursing perspective this makes perfect sense. Thank you!
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Sorry ! Did this on my tablet, and could not see all the auto corrects?? Should left it at Thank you !
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i would just like for you to know that I appreciated your perspective on the Ebola virus!! I hope you don’t become to agitated over others lack of ability to capture the essence of your topic . Please keep up the good work on educating the mass , and I will pass this along , as I feel it is a very important thing for the masses to know , since the media is not !!!
Thanks again
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So what do we do? How do we voice our opinions to the Government and CDC? Clearly Ebola is being brought into this country via individuals that travel to Africa. Why we allow this is just mind blowing!!!! If you want to go to Africa…go to Africa..but DON’T leave there! Also, as scary as this is…..it is what it is! We can’t live in fear and we have to continue to live our lives.
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Open borders baby. More Dem voters.
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We need to figure how the Ebola virus can survive in Bats and dogs and not show symptoms or be affected by it and yet be a carrier.
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Amen!
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I’m a respiratory therapist & we are worried at our hospital about our safety. I was informed by one of my coworkers that there are only 4 hospitals in this country with level 2 isolation precautions which is need for Ebola. Where does that leave the rest of us? I guess at high risk for it. We actually had someone come into our hospital that was put on precautions because of his recent arrival from Africa. It turned not to be Ebola but the whole situation left me scared. We didn’t have the proper protection that we needed. If this would have been Ebola you left your hospital staff unprotected with increase risk of them possibly getting sick & spreading Ebola to even more people. It has already arrived at the US & our care givers aren’t being protected. Sad but true
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Hype. Now it’s here. So much hype and zero responsibility. Travel to and from should have been banned if so horrible. Airline crews are being told by CDC not to worry. Just wash hands. Do you know I am vomited on several times a year? I have nothing to sanitize the plane with or protective gear. It was irresponsible to bring victims into the USA. Irresponsible to not be banning travel to/from West Africa.
With that West Africa is completely backwards when it comes to being sanitary. Uncooked, contaminated bush meat. Lack of hand washing stations. They think it is a white mans disease, and dug up the dead. They wash their dead. Little healthcare. Undernourished. On and on, why our general society differs from west africa. Why surrounding countries are not contaminated. Think about it. Now ask, why in the world are we inviting them in? I believe someone has an agenda. The other option is incompetency and that will get us all killed.
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What PPE would be advisable to have on hand? Or would it even be helpful?
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Appreciate it a lot! Thank you for sharing it to us! God bless!
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Thanks for the information. What you have to say seems logical to me. So much of what you hear from MSM doesn’t make sense if you use critical thinking. I do believe there are some very powerful people who stand to make a lot of money off of scaring the public into mass vaccinations. Again thanks for taking time out of your day to help educate the non-medical person.
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Thanks for sharing your perspective. It was very enlightening.
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Excellent article!
I am curious as to what happens to the Ebola patient’s urine and fecies, do they get collected and incinerated or flushed down the toilet? If flushed, would these bodily fluids not infect the sewage system and waterways, etc?
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Great article and very well articulated. I am a nurse myself and agree with everything you have written. We need to remain vigilant in our process of continued education and learning everything we can about this horrible virus in hopes that a more effective treatment can be found along with isolation of the virus. Thanks again for your hard work, effort, and invaluable knowledge.
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What advice would you give to healthcare workers to maximize our ability to protect our family at home and protect ourselves? Thank you!
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I have civd and take ivig infussions,never been out of this state tenn scince this all started,but i am worryed about havin such a low immune system and evengoun to the grocery store .i have type 1 diabeaties and other autoimune things like fibro.ki was thinking the same as you ..we tell our familys at flu season to not rub there eyes or put fingers and items in there mouth and cover ther snizing….but maybe we need to also look at our Bibles this is writen and we need to take confort that maybe our Lord is coming again soon…that you for your help understanding..i agree with you..God BlessYou and if you have any good ideas for me to be safer with my lowe immunie system let me know..again thks
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Dear Nurses, Paramedics and Doctors,
You are, without a doubt, heroes beyond description and we have no adequate way to express just how grateful, and in awe, we are of your courage and commitment to helping others in need.
Sincerely, People of Planet Earth x
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Thank you so much for your article…my husband is in the Congo right now working…his company has sent emails to keep them ‘informed’ on this horrible virus…I will definitely be sending this to him…like I told him…it’s not that you aren’t in the area where it is but the people around you that MAY have been…we all need to be smart and cautious…
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Does anyone know what schools thesee individuals he had contact with attend?
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•Conrad High School
•Tasby Middle School
•Hotchkiss Elementary School
•Dan D. Rogers Elementary School
http://www.wfaa.com/story/news/health/2014/10/01/thompson-dallas-county-ebola-patient-cases/16524303/
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Do you think it’s possible that the earth is in the process of ridding its self of the real danger to all life on the planet? Humans
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In the first part of the article you say Ebola is not an organism, then in the last part of the article you say it is an organism and that Ebola can live in droplets…
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I’m sorry, I agree this disease is horrible and shouldn’t be taken lightly, but I just don’t see how you can make some of the claims you made and then call it your opinion at the end. Some of the things you said directly contradict what we know about this virus and I’m not talking about contradicting the news, I’m talking about contradicting science. I would love to learn your source that backs up your claims, especially regarding that it can be transmitted prior to symptoms being shown and how easy it is to spread. This goes against everything I’ve read on multiple sites we’ve all heard of like CDC, WHO, Mayoclinic, WebMd and other sites I can’t remember off top of my head. If they are wrong I would love to know where I can go to get these new facts you have, not attacking you, really interested to see if I’m wrong. That being said, I understand fully the fear you must face being a nurse and knowing this disease can come into your hospital and I hope it never does, and I thank you for the perspective about the affects.. but at the moment, without some sources regarding your claims I just can’t disagree with you more about many points and I think you’re causing more fear based off misinformation.
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CDC is lying. Just like Susan Rice. Global warming is the biggest scam in history. Flat temps for 17 years!
“If you like your doctor….”
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I agree with you! I would like to know sources as well (just to KNOW) bc everything I have read so far states it’s only transmitted through droplets in the latter stages and is NOT contagious until symptoms begin. In my husband’s line of work he has some insight on this and when he tells me I should be worried, thats when I will worry. I stated above in another response I DEF think healthcare workers need to have better PPE and better decontamination standards when handling infectious “anything”. I think this article from a nurses perspective this can shed some light on the type of gear they use or have access too and clearly needs to be addressed but is also creating unnecessary fear and some misinformation or inconsistencies for ppl who arent in this line of work. Is it scary?! YES. Should we freak out?! like I said, when my husband comes home with Level A suits for my family I will begin to freak then.
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Thank you, your article was very informative, and voiced in understandable terms. Knowledge is power.
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Regarding the ‘protocols’ in place for hospitals, the CDC page lists the following precautions:
http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/hcp/index.html
The Personal Protective Equipment was referenced in an interview last night as being adequate, despite not covering hair or the neck area. Look at the CDC link provided showing how to put on the PPE:
Click to access ppe-poster.pdf
Yet when CDC researchers study Ebola in a lab setting, it’s (rightly) treated as a level 4 bio hazard requiring the ‘space suits’ and other equipment:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biosafety_level
My question: Isn’t the real problem is the CDC protocols are themselves woefully inadequate?
Shouldn’t they be revised based on what we’ve seen in Dallas?
This was an award-winning, wealthy Dallas hospital and they’ve shown EVERY hospital in America is not prepared for this disease, IMO.
Thank you for your thoughtful article.
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You ask why no ban on travelers from W. Africa. A: It was a political decision straight from Obama. He can’t have any waiver from his open borders and amnesty policy.
The Obama Administration is against the citizens of the United States.
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Thank you for laying it all out in normal words for people to understand. I can’t comprehend how people are not more concerned about what’s happening, especially with the ease of travel we have in our country. It would take no time for this disease to move all over the place and people need to understand the gravity of this situation.
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Thank you so much for this article, this must be known worldwide. Greetings from Argentina.
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I think it was a well written article, and very informative. I think it becomes a little fear-mongering toward the end…but not outside the potential realm of reality. The only issue I found within the article, (and I believe you addressed in your comments following the original article…) are with the following statement:
“Well for one, people can spread it before they show symptoms, just like Ebola,” We know that Ebola CANNOT be spread before people show symptoms… And if there are definitive refutations to this, please provide citations.
It probably should more accurately read…”Well, for one, people can spread it before they KNOW/ACCEPT they have symptoms, since Ebola mimics so many other infectious diseases at inception. People can be “infected” without KNOWING they are infected, and therefore spread the disease.
I would also point out, that although coughing and sneezing “can” be associated with Ebola, they are not “common” symptoms…like would be encountered with the flu or other infectious respiratory viruses. So while it is more that theoretically likely that Ebola “could” be spread by sneezing or coughing…it is far more likely that fever and/or nausea would be present BEFORE sneezing and coughing would occur, (thereby being the first symptoms indicating infection and initiating medical care) and that sneezing/coughing are two symptoms that most people will NOT exhibit at all. But I DO accept that even WHO does admit that coughing/sneezing “can” be accepted modes of transmission, even if not common ones.
Currently in Dallas, the ONLY persons to be infected are those that had direct contact with patient zero in ICU. All “casual” contact persons from the first group coming in contact with patient zero, are in fact still presently clear of symptoms, and that original set of contacts will pass the 21 day quarantine in four days, and have easily cleared the “hot” period of ten days post exposure. The hospital ER staff, the ambulance drivers and caregivers, and decontamination staff/companies, continue to remain symptom-free. I do fear that more health care workers could become clinical before this is over…but until such time that any casual contacts become infected…I’m not willing to buy into your “dooms-day” scenario, regardless of how “potentially” possible it may be. And I truly believe that we are going to find out that those infected health care workers were exposed due to a weakness in the protocol…either in protective gear, or in the decontamination process, or in providing high risk procedures such as respiratory intubation and dialysis. I believe that the real culprit here, is the fact that nurses and/or doctors for that matter…were not given appropriate hazmat gear, or given protocols that were adequate to protect their safety. It will be interesting to find out EXACTLY what gear was provided and what the decontamination procedures were.
I think at this point, fear is more of a danger than the virus itself. I found the first half of your article to be very informative, and very clinical and educational in nature. The second half to be much like a sci-fi disaster movie.
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I responded to recent posts and said the SAME thing about the breach in decon and hazmat protocols as well as PPE (or lack thereof). I think the article brings an awareness to ppl in the healthcare industry to be more aware of how to deal with things such as this and proper PPE and decontamination protocols to prevent infection but agree towards the end it gets into fearmongering like these other news outlets. Fear is def more of a danger at this point then the virus.
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