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 
I just want to thank the nurse for her perspective. I myself am freaking out and am taking this very serious. This is scary sh** . I mean really, Ebola is a horrible way to die and as soon as I heard about the case in Dallas I told my wife that this world has become such a horrible place and so very evil and I feared this was bow the world would end. Everyone kept telling me Dallas is too far from temple not to fear. Well now a child I. Belton was in contact with some one who had been in contact with that man and belton Is right next door so now am I allowed to worry … I want to hide in my house and never leave I am scared to death to die from this.thank u for the article very nice of u to sit and write it. For us.
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So when and i do mean when not if, this virus makes it to my city it is going to be easily contracted from products and or produce at my grocery store? To bring home to my family? If majority passes it on without being symptomatic first and then even when one does become symptomatic passes it off as the flu…..we are all in very real danger. Idk about you but I do not have a space suit laying around and I do have 2 young children to protect. What is the best and or safest way YOU know how to protect yourself?
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Don’t take a plane or public boat. Find a way to a deserted island and live on it. Virus do not survive traveling over oceans. Bring lots of seeds to plant your own gardens. Bring some livestock to grow for meat.
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So, if I get flu symptoms… do I go to urgent care or wait it out? I never go to the Dr. when I get the flu. I also hate to contaminate others. I guess I wonder what the average mom should be doing other than equipping my child’s immune system to fight. Sigh…
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Very well written. So how come the hospitals are are not prepared? I was told Harborview is where the potential patients will be sent if it will be the case. But how will be determined if someone has the virus if they are not tested? And where can people be tested other than the hospitals and clinics? So while they are waiting in the waiting room patiently to be seen by their provider they will be spreading the virus even before being diagnosed.
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This is by far the best article I have read yet about this virus. So informative and well written. I am a RN myself in a graduate program to become an adult acute care NP. You have made me interested in further specializing in infection disease. Thank you so much!!! This article may have just changed my life.
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Thank you for taking the time to write this essay. I worked with HIV/AIDS patients and you have made it perfectly clear how people become infected with this typeof a disease. God Bless you. Suzanne Waldron, Lake Havasu City, AZ
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Thank you very much. After reading I have a better understanding on what Ebola is.This is Prophecy in the LAST DAYS there will deceases with NO cures for. Bless you for having a servant heart. MELISSA P. ❤
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So ,,, when a vaccine is eventually developed will you acknowledge you were wrong? Because it will be … and you are.
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Really? It will? You get your AIDS vaccine yet this year?
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I’m very thankful you wrote this article. I have not been taking this situation lightly, but I was not as educated on the topic. So I’m very thankful to have a different perspective to look at it from especially from an experienced nurse. So would you say there’s anything we can do to prevent getting the virus or even lower our chances? Or is our only real option just to practice good hygiene? Thanks.
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I appreciate this article and agree completely. Educated awareness is KEY. As an ER nurse, this hits very close to home for me. We, as nurses, are the front line for a number of illnesses.
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I wish i know how to protect myself, family and friends. Im sooo scared. Everyone who read this very informative note for all people should take this seriously. Thank you!
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Yes. That you have to elaborate on the obvious, I am sorry. But, by God, this is exactly what I’ve thought since May. Let’s pray diligence triumphs over recklessness.
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Thank you!
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i think the bottom line for me is we just don’t know enough yet about the virus. the author is using the language used by media and other “experts” as an example, and comparing these words to how other diseases/viruses are described as well. basically showing how the words being used are not very comforting and somewhat vague- even if they are intending to be “reassuring”. are the CDC and other “experts” choosing their words very carefully in order to reduce mass hysteria while leaving a loophole open in case it’s much worse than communicated?
i think the next few weeks will be very telling. if this is as contagious as she is making it out to be (e.g., flu-like), then we will see evidence of it in 21 days, right? surely duncan, pham, vinson would have had more than enough opportunity to spread to others.
i also think given how few cases we have, we can actually look to compare to other areas where there has been more critical mass. in other words, what was going on in west africa in the earlier part of this year when there were only a couple dozen cases? how many people are getting infected and at what rate? i think i saw some graphic that said for every one person, two people get infected. and that is without a lot of the precautions that we take here. so shouldn’t our ratio be a lot better? if infection rate in west africa is 2:1 (one person infects two new cases, essentially doubles the total number of cases every 2-3 weeks), and we are so much better with procedures, sanitation, education, and adherence, then we should be 1:1 or even less?
or alternatively, if it were really transmitted as easily as flu, wouldn’t the infection ratio and pace in west africa be much higher? or does west africa benefit from something we don’t (perhaps lower population density or smaller travel/migration pattern )? when a kid gets ebola, do a bunch of his classmates get it as well?
curious what the other’s thoughts are on my last comment/question regarding how our infection rate should compare to west africa.
-KJT
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If you do your math you will see that we already have a 1:2 ratio with the example of the Dallas “patient zero”. And those are healthcare workers who should know of be told how to take the best precaution. Now imagine this with two people who have absolutely no idea about precaution…
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Thanks for the article. I feel people need to be more educated in this as it does not appear to be going away anytime soon. I do not understand how they let that nurse on the plane in Texas to come to Cleveland, Ohio when she was beginning to have a fever (99.5). No, it was not as high as the CDC has said it needs to be (101.5) to be symptomatic of the virus, but she was in contact with the patient in Dallas who died from Ebola. Commonsense should have kicked in, in my opinion. Maybe it was like you stated that people do not want to think they could have this virus. So they deny it as long as they can. Me, on the other hand would have thought that I am beginning to run a fever and have been in contact with someone who had Ebola. Let me get my butt to the hospital and begin any treatment possible out there that might help me to live through this. I would take any treatment possible because what do you have to lose. It will be interesting to see how things go this winter when the flu is in full swing. Will the hospital er’s be over filled with people that are scared they have Ebola or will they wait it out at home and see. My advise to all is to get your flu shot so your chances of getting the flu will be greatly reduced and therefore you will not panic and think you have Ebola when it is just the flu.
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So, should we panic? Should we prepare for the worst? Should we try to confine ourselves at home as much as possible and not even think about going into the Dallas/Ft Worth area? What is the next step for avg everyday people like me? I live about 2 hrs from Dallas, but have family, and my son’s dad live right near Ft Worth.. Really terrifying, i see things that say to calm down etc but then read things like this.. What do we do??
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Reblogged this on wealthinhealthcare and commented:
A must read and a very good account of the thoughts of a frontline infectious disease worker.
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It’s worth pointing out that an individual could simultaneously be infected with more than one type of infection at the same time, and that said infections could synergistically work together to increase the likelihood of transmitting both to the next victim.
Sneezing from a sinus infection just before running a fever from ebola would be very bad if any virus is shedded in a public place.
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I have been totally baffled as to why this is down played so much when slightly more dangerous strains of the flu are so hyped up. I think you hit it in that it is so foreign and contained for so long that we just don’t know how to grasp it. Most have had the flu or known someone with it so the idea of a big badder version is scary. But Ebola… what’s that? We can’t wrap our brains around it because we’ve never seen anything close to it.
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AWESOME!!! thank you for this….you put it out there very clear and easy for all to understand what we are dealing with. LOVE IT
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Your article was SOOO well written ! I am an administrative nurse in a large Level 1 Academic Institution. (ER Bedside 17 years) I too just graduated with my Masters in Nursing Science and Health Care Leadership. It is amazing how many critics are out there ready to tear apart good works. Negativity is all they exhibit and they are a branch from the tree that will never bear fruit. Come on, this article was so accurately detailed in layman terms, it is totally invaluable!! I have yet to see even some of the most profound faculty describe a disease process or complicated pathophys. as eloquently as you did. I agree with everything you said and share your perspective. You are a phenominal advocate for not only the patient but also the community. Don’t ever feel like you have to defend your position statements, experiences or research. Translation to layman terms is truly an art. It is difficult. I absolutely appreciate your time and work that went into this, I learned a number of things from it and I, my friend, am thankful. Keep up the good works.
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While your article is informative, you are doing nothing but feeding the fire that is irrational fear. By simple deduction of presented information in your article I should be lead to believe (like a lot of your readers already are) that Ebola is going to to spread worldwide and kill over 50% of the population. The simple truth is that this is just not the case. You failed to explain why Ebola is running rampant in Africa but, quite literally, nowhere else in the world. I’m not trying to start a flame war or anything of the such, I just want people to keep their fear mongering in check.
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I think a rationale way to compare is to actually look at the infection rate of flu in west africa vs. infection rate of ebola in west africa. then at least you have a flu-to-ebola ratio that could serve as a more relevant data point for extrapolation.
I’m also curious how previous Ebole outbreaks (including Zaire strain) died off on their own without all of the discipline that the WHO are supposedly implementing now. From what I can gather, simple quarantine and a slight improvement in medical processes (not reusing needles) was enough to reduce the infection ratio down to less than 1:1.
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Reread her article on the part she say Ebola lives in bats and Africans eat bats. You may be able to see the difference in infection levels as no American eat bats. Don’t just shoot the nurse without understanding her point of view which would just be that. But I would add that so far, from the many points of view that have been made on the subject, hers is the one that has made more sense and raised my understanding and awareness being the lay person that I am.
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That’s just silly. Just because your opinion is that down is up doesn’t make it valid; if it’s his (the nurse is male) opinion that Ebola comes from bats but the facts do not support it, then his “opinion” is wrong. And you cannot point at different infection rates (are they really different?) between the US and African nations and conclude that the reason is they eat bats over there. That’s just ridiculously simplistic.
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People afraid to leave their homes? To not go to work for 21 days because their boss is flying to Dallas? The panic is exacerbated by the news media but we are not in Africa with thousands of cases. I am an RN with 30 years experience. Stay calm, wash your hands.
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Very good article I am very proud of your knowledge as RN
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Very well written.
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I am also in the healthcare field but not a nurse. I appreciate you taking the time to write this and explain it in a way that everyone can undesrand! It is really unfortunate that there are way to many people that are not taking the Ebola Virus seriously!
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Thanks for taking the time to write and share your perspective. I just got back from an international flight from the States to Europe and I’m counting down 21 days. I normally stay clear of people that’s traveled to different countries for at least 1 week after they arrived in fear of catching the flu (they unknowingly have), but this time it’s me doing the traveling and it’s a Ebola. I’m just so glad I got out of there when I did.
One constructive comment: new paragraphs would greatly help the readability of your blog post. Cheers!
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Don’t you just love the Grammar/Spelling Police?
Grammar Correct or Politically Correct. Is their a difference or are they the same people?
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Thank you so much for taking your time to educate us. May God bless you
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As a fellow nurse I appreciate your thorough explanation of this Virus and its presence in the U.S.. I like how you’ve explained and given examples of how the virus spreads in a variety of ways. I myself am still attempting to learn more about Ebola and as a very new graduate nurse am still learning much about being a nurse.
That being said, you mentioned protecting the community in your article many times. You’ve already done so by teaching about Ebola and how it is spread. I feel the next step would be coming up with steps that people can take to protect themselves and their loved ones from becoming sick. As nurses we know that sometimes things must be explained using simple terms and concepts for our patients to understand and for our guidance to be taken and put to use correctly. I feel that a simply designed guide to protecting ourselves would serve the general public very well and help prevent the spread of Ebola. I feel it would also improve the worth of the wonderful education you’ve provided.
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Thank you for informing us more on Ebola and other virus!! At least we are more enlightened on how it is. Good luck in what you do and do be careful!
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Ok. A question for ya…I flew into dfw twice over this past weekend. Should I be concerned about having been in the same airport….though different times as other people….concerning contracting or transmitting the virus?? I did not notice any sick people and didnt see or hear anyone sneezing etc.
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Great information! My concern is the past 6 months we have had a nation wide IV saline shortage, and at times have had to Waite a month for shipments to come in. Being that fluid replacement is key to survival I wonder if 1. The CDC is aware, or 2. This was more anticipated, and that is why there was a shortage?
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Thank you thank you so much!!! I agree with Paula Green also..& For the people out there who are just blowing this off and thinking its a joke or a Big Deal you are a bunch of dumb A*** and the joke will be on you Don’t Cry Later!!!!!
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Thank you thank you so much!!! I agree with Paula Green also..& For the people out there who are just blowing this off and thinking its a joke or Not a Big Deal you are a bunch of dumb A*** and the joke will be on you Don’t Cry Later!!!!!
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Thank you so much for your informative letter! As one nurse to another, you did an excellent job in explaining in non-medical jargon about a horrible deadly virus!
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Thank You for being at least honest with your writing. Very scary and being the Chief of a volunteer Fire Department in SC, just miles from where the latest victim has been transported, it concerns me for my entire department as first responders.
May God protect us all.
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Thank you for this article! Little advice to try an protect yourself. Not saying it’s full proof however, right now
the best way to protect yourself is to WASH your hands. If you do feel like you have the flu and need to see a doctor and have to be in a waiting room or amongst people wear a MASK. Masks should be provided in all ER and doctor offices. Wear a mask especially if you are sneezing and/or coughing. You probably won’t have a body suit protection but washing your hands and wearing a mask if sneezing and/or coughing could help. Where I am from all doctor offices/ hospitals remove magazines/books in waiting rooms during flu season. Hope Ebola is contained sooner than later.
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Thank you! As a nursing student I appreciate this information and the way you broke it down!
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great article! very clear and to the point. Read about Ebola many years ago as a new nurse, and it scared me to death then. It makes me ill to think it is here in this country now, and will be here to stay for sure! Scary times for healthcare teams. And everyone else.
Thanks for writing this!
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Thank you so much for writing this. It seems the main thing people can do to stay safe is wash your hands, a lot. And if you’re sick, stay home. This is where paid sick days come in handy. Low paid restaurant workers with no sick time, going to work while ill so they can pay their bills, scare me every winter.
Also, keep this in perspective everyone. The flu kills tens of thousands of people in the US every year. The same things you do to prevent the flu will work with other communicable diseases too.
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I forgot to add, I read about ebola in the 90’s and knew eventually it would get into other countries. We’ve been very lucky since 1976 when it was first studied/treated by western science. It hit in small villages and was contained before moving to other areas. That happened mostly due to the hard, dangerous work of medical professionals who went to Africa to treat people.
This time it got into Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. It was just a matter of time before someone traveling would bring to other parts of the world.
What I don’t understand is why the nurses in Dallas didn’t have haz-mat suits when treating the guy from Liberia. That’s what they need, just like everyone else dealing with ebola.
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Very informative. I am to be flying to Dallas in November and I an feaking out. So many people say dont worry but I have major anxiety about it. And this confirms that.
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Ok here is my only thing – or question I should say. Some of what you just said contradicts what they are telling us as far as how it is spread. For example, you state that it can be spread prior to a person being symptomatic. However, EVERYTHING that the CDC and other medical professionals are releasing to us right now states that it can only be transmitted AFTER a person is symptomatic and not through casual contact. Is everyone else lying to make us feel better? Can you point to some sources? I think this is a very important distinction to know.
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So basically you tell us if you show symptoms at all you’re contagious and something needs to be done. But then you say when we do show the achy sneezy nauseous symptoms don’t freak out because it’s flu season…… I don’t understand which one is more important how am I supposed to keep myself or anyone else safe with those conflicting ideas?
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Thank you for your perspective and the info as to how Ebola is spread and what it does to your body. I have heard so much in the news about Ebola without truly knowing how anyone catches it or what it does to the human body (besides death). Very informative! Thank you!
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I am also a nurse and I live in Texas. I hadn’t done any real research on Ebola yet so your article was extremely informative for me. Pat yourself on the back for a job well done and ignore the haters. They only want your attention and you have them some.
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Thank you for writing this. I too am a nurse but not nearly as educated or experienced as you. People think I am in panic mode because I continue to post things about this virus. I don’t think anyone should panic, but they should educate and prepare themselves for this situation. I feel many people are being very naive about this.
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It came from monkeys and fruit flies. Just so you know it is airborne.
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good for you. I am so proud to be a nurse and to read about nurses like you.
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Thank you for the articulate and plentiful information re. EBOLA. PLEASE SEND IT TO THE WHITE HOUSE AND CDC.
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Thanks for the article, it was very useful information. Don’t let the negative folks bring you down; just keep moving forward.
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This is the most informative information to date regarding Ebola! Thank you for posting and sharing! Knowledge is power and does not cause panic! I’m concerned at this point that the head of the CDC is either uneducated or a liar. Regardless, he needs to resign and the truth needs to brought to light so that the public can be informed! There have been numerous contradictions reported by the so called “Powers at Be”! One more thing, don’t sell your self short by saying your not a Doctor! My money would be on you, if I had to make a choice between you and Dr.
CDC!
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