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 am a nurse also. ….read the book ” Hot Zone ” over 20 years ago and like the last sentence says ” it will be back” and here it is. …I wish the public had more info/ education on this and would realize the seriousness of this virus. …Cheers to you for all the info you gave, thank you!
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This is very informative, thank you. I’m a “news junkie” and I have been so frustrated by the coverage of this. No one tells you what the disease does to you, how it kills you, what to be aware of, so this is very helpful. Since I am the caregiver of my elderly mother, and spend LOTS of time in doctors’ offices (read, waiting rooms), the comments about taking our own “entertainment” and clean up kit with us were very helpful, too. Thank you. I feel much better informed now.
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I too read The Hot Zone. It was given to me by my mother, a microbiologist. I wasn’t a nurse yet, but it began a long love affair with infective diseases once I graduated. It scares me to the core how nonchalant the general populace is treating this. More education needs to be made available sooner rather than later.
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I am an RN too…and I totally agree! And, great article. Spells it out to those of you that agree and disagree…who are you going to believe? Us in the field…or our government. These are the facts. I have said this all along since the beginning of Dallas…Airborne or not…a cough and a sneeze are what they are….and can spread many germs as a flash speed. Cold, Flu…and Ebola.
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Thank you this is a very informative article, I’ve learnt so much just reading this than anywhere else. I’m African living in southern Africa and we should be on high alert and educating or people on the disease but there isn’t enough information going round about ebola. I’ll share this article with my friends because it gives valuable information.
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Thank you. Glad I could help
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Psalms 91
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the mightly shadows of His wings and should not fear the snare of the fowler or the noisome pestilence nor the terrors of night. No evil will befall him (or her), for what is life but to live is Christ and to die but gain.
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Thank you.
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I appreciate all that you had to say. Thank you for taking the time to say it and to respond as you did at the end.
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Thank you for reading. I was getting the impression that some people were left confused and I hoped to clear that up
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from one nurse to another…great job and excellent article….
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Thank you, very much for your caring and sharing!
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Wow, way to spread incorrect info lady! You said “HIV only lives outside of the human body for a few seconds, maybe minutes if the quantity is high enough, Hepatitis a bit longer.”….. Are you aware just how freaking wrong you are? How many IV drug users are going to go and share needles now because they or someone they know read this crappy article and thought ” oh she said it only lives for seconds outside of the body, it’s safe to share” … HIV can live for up to 4 weeks in a syringe and for far longer than “a few seconds” outside of the body. I won’t even go into Hepatitis B but C lives for a minimum of 16 hours outside of the body.
I don’t know what study you got your information from but please stop blogging incorrect crap that people will read as truths, because it isn’t the truth its crap!
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Yes ma’am, I’ll get right on that ma’am….right after you provide evidence of your information
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*Sir*
You can do your own research about Hep B and C *hint* Hep B survives longer but here is some info for you regarding HIV and Syringes.
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/410301
Have a great evening!
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I’ll look at it when I get home….its still irrelevant to this article. I mention Hep and HIV just to relate to viruses people are more familiar with, its a teaching tool
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Also, as I cannot link you to my journals I have subscriptions to, I linked medscape in in order to keep them scholarly and not just random websites like this one.
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And BTW…its Sir…non lady.
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Lol I doubt there will be ANY drug users reading this post and saying that. Lol this made me laugh tho so thank you for the comment
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Exactly! Lol
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It is strange how word gets around regarding certain things. It only takes one person to read it. Notice he never replied to my proof that his whole article is full of untruths.
I respect what he is trying to do, I appreciate him trying to give people information, but when you provide truths mixed with untruths, it makes your whole point moot.
I do agree with one thing, the fact that it is here, in the US, is something to take note of. We have a country full of overly vaccinated, overly medicated, antibiotic and steroid filled obese people. Who knows what Ebola could do to us.
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I haven’t had the time to review your info, but I have it pulled up on my laptop. I have a few things consuming my spare time this week.
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I kinda like you OP, thanks for being mature when someone debates or disagrees, much respect *bro*. =)
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I try, I’m always open to listening and try to make sure things are right
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Thank You!
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Everyone needs to read this article about Ebola. Please forward this to anyone you care about.
Jim
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Thank you for this information! I have a question that maybe you or someone else in the comment thread could answer…how do the 50% or so people who get infected AND SURVIVE beat Ebola? Does their immune system just destroy the Ebola virus? Does Ebola run it’s course and if they can survive the blood loss, etc they live? I havent seen a single news story that addresses this question, so your answers however incomplete are appreciated. Thanks!
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Different people respond to the virus in different ways, and also depends on how fast the receive care. Similar to the flu here, it kills a lot of kids and elderly, but healthy adults survive
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So it now seems Ebola is airborne as now a 2nd person is showing signs, a Dallas County Sheriff’s deputy… who had been inside Ebola victim Thomas Duncan’s Dallas apartment.
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Thanks for the post. I recall watching NYT video of Liberia. Chickens were strolling in and out of the homes where Ebola patients had died, and I thought “Wait — there are certainly soiled sheets and other body fluids in there. What keeps the chicken from walking through that and then bringing the infected liquids out to the rest of the community?” This whole thing seems to be misunderstood by the communities being devastated, and too much emphasis on telling us not to freak out rather than telling us what the true risks are.
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You are right on the money Carrie. This non-sense in the media about the virus lasting on surfaces for only minutes or hours is an example of that. They reference a paper Bausch et al (JID 2007:19), that was about an Ebola clinic that was being continually bleached. That has no basis when we talk about exposure in the public.
The CDC and media are trying to downplay this mess that is sure to get worse as the epidemic grows exponentially in West Africa. Lou Dobbs had a guest on his show who was a Dr. that has been to Liberia 25 times over this Ebola outbreak. He estimated that the numbers are triple what is being reported in the media.
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Exactly…this outbreak is much different than any before it, so any data from prior outbreaks is irrelevant. And its never been in American people in an American climate, and that DOES make a difference
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Fomites…exactly….
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I Didn’t go through all of the comments, therefore the statement may have already been made, but why are the people returning from the infected area quarantined immediately? Better safe than sorry.
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You would think, but the people in charge aren’t too concerned with it
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Finally the TRUTH! Thanks.
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Thank you so much for taking the time to help others!
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I just want to say thank you for posting this! I did a research paper on the Ebola virus at age 18, and it scared the crap out of me then! Now, as a nurse myself, even more scary! And….sad. When people brush it off..I say don’t! I pray we get a handle on it..and quickly. Thank you again!
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Reblogged this on Not Quite An Alaskan Gypsy and commented:
This is a great article. I’ve heard so many people who shrug off what is happening with this virus. It’s big. It’s scary.
I almost didn’t attend a conference in Dallas in August because of this outbreak, and was shocked to see that Dallas was where the first patient in the US is. Gave me a little bit of shivers. Hoping my gut feeling is wrong on this… Read the blog attached. It’s worth it.
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Thank you for explaining this in simple terms! I am a nurse as well. No experience with infectious disease except for a couple of years in public health. But, I have had the same thoughts as you have expresses here. Common sense for nurses! What scares me is that this outbreak is being handled with kid gloves and political correctness instead of COMMON SENSE! I know it will get worse before it gets better! And that is what really scares me about the way our politicians an media are handling it!
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doesn’t scare me that the general public doesn’t know about this virus it scares me that the CDC didn’t shut down flights to countries that are infected when it’s now an epidemic there. I can’t even imagine trying to isolate this disease if there’s an outbreak that is widespread in the states here. obviously I don’t Advocate panic but I certainly do advocate government intervention and travel restrictions and that we fight the virus in Liberia and other African countries
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Yep
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The government is doing a lot to fight ebola. By shutting down air travel to affected countries, how would we help them? Americans aren’t the only people that matter.
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I’m an RN too – great article! Thank you for writing it.
People need real information. Truth is in short supply these days.
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And yet we are sending troops over to Africa to be exposed and then return to the US…..why in the heck are we not banning flights from any African countries that are in the big middle of the ebola outbreak….person infectious on plane sneezes and coughs…..does that mean almost full plane of ebola patients walking?
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Since you lied and said Ebola is contagious before one shows symptoms (it’s not) why should we believe anything else you say? This is nothing but fear-mongering propaganda.
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Please quote the line where I said its contagious before symptoms….
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“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. Just like with the flu or hand foot and mouth disease, you can be spreading it to others before you show a symptom*.”
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I am an infection prevention committee member and you nailed it. Knowledge is power.
Thank you
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See, smart people agree with me, lol
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Thank you very much for the information; I’ve been in medical for 20 years not with infections but I know how easily they are shared. I believe the government should have stepped up in the beginning in Africa with the number of people who were dying and worked on a medicine to help them teach them about the bats cleanliness and maybe we wouldn’t be dealing with this here. That aside people here and there need to hear this information you’ve offered and stop covering up! What’s done in the dark will come to ye light! Always! ! Thank you again😊
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TB & polio are far from eradicated; I’ve spent much of my career dealing with it. You CAN get HIV from exposure to mucous membranes. You don’t have to literally consume poop to get Hep A & Hep E. If a cook uses the restroom, does not use proper hand hygiene, & prepares your food, you can get it from the contaminated food (as w/other foodborne illness). The “space suits” are HAZMAT suits.
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I didn’t mention any specific Hep but A is specifically transmitted via the fecal-oral route. The point I was making by that is that you can get infected from amounts way too small to detect. So yes, fecal-oral route indicates you literally consume poop, but it can be in very best small amounts. If a cook uses the bathroom and doesn’t wash well, they have tiny bits of poop on their hands. Fecal transfer has been detected through multiple layers of toilet paper. Its even found on tooth brushes several feet from the toilet, we ALL consume fecal matter without knowing it. The last naturally occurring polio case in the US occurred when my mother was in the 4th grade, so I’d say its safe to assume its of little concern, and I live close to the border where lots of immigrants come over with TB and spread it here, I’ve had 2 or 3 patients with active, untreated TB recently, but its not remotely as common as it was 10 years ago….and whether you call them haz mat suits or space suits (please Google “hyperbole”) the point remains the same. The people wearing them are still getting sick, but then tell us its no big deal
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I’m well aware of fecal-oral transmission route as a former communicable disease nurse, but your wording made it sound as if you had to eat out of the toilet bowl for dinner, which is not the case. There are many places on this planet where polio thrives (like India), & we are a plane ride away from being hit with it here if people don’t continue to vaccinate. Successful vaccination campaigns have kept it out of this country since the late 70s, but we live in a time of globalization. Don’t ask me to google “hyperbole”; I knew you weren’t being literal, but it’s appropriate to call it what it is when you’re trying to inform folks. While there are only about 11,000 cases of TB in the US each year, it is the #1 cause of death among HIV-infected people worldwide. We still have work to do. Can you reference a legitimate article suggesting people wearing HAZMAT suits are getting sick? I would argue the gear goes above & beyond the call of duty for a droplet/contact infectious disease that is not airborne.
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Smarty people agree with u ? ! U sound arrogant and that u knows everything !( nurse perspective ) Using people fears to feed your ego ! Some Info are correct n some info are far from it !
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I’m not arrogant at all, this was meant as an education piece, if it scares you then it shows how horribly uneducated you are about what this virus really is… The Dallas patient died today. We caught his case early and have him the best care possible, and he still died, he was young and otherwise healthy….that should speak volumes all by itself
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I read Hot Zone when it came out and was horrified by lethality of Ebola. I said to my girlfriend at the time,” can you imagine someone getting on a plane sick with EBOLA?”. And now. I fear our government has just fucked us…..
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Thanks for the article. On a comic note as I’m reading about the doctor office visit, I sneezed and instantly thought oh crap. Earlier in the week, they published the signs and I thought if it presents itself as flu at first we are so screwed. How many will go to work with a fever now? What a mess.
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Excellent work and appreciated by a hospital pharmacist. My take is that there are already lots of ebola cases in the United States but the doctors don’t realize what they are treating and/or the hospitals are hushing it up because they don’t want the bad publicity.
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What scares me most is incompetence….and there is plenty of it. It only take one person to screw up, and they probably wouldn’t even know they did…Am I fear mongering….no, just realistic…people need to be very concerned about this, and the government and media are not doing the due diligence…I also believe that quarentining people once they get here is too late…people need to be quarentined THERE, before coming here….this is just the beginning…
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My main frustration with what you’re posting is that, contrary to popular belief, nurses are highly specialized. To the trained eye (me), it is obvious you have no experience in communicable disease nursing. I know a few epidemiologists who would likely agree. Stick to what you know instead of giving incorrect information. I readily admit I don’t know squat about cancer b/c I’ve never been an oncology nurse.
In response to some comments: It is very likely that you will get Ebola, & it will be all Barack Obama’s fault. Sike! 🙂
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But as I mentioned in the article, I have tons of experience with infectious disease. I was even discussing my article today with one of our infectious disease doctors who read it and thought I did a good job. Our hospital educator also came and found me to express how excited she was to see one of her nurses all over Facebook. And I’m not in a small hospital either, we have over a dozen smaller branches, service a population of over 1 million people, and employ 4000 nurses.
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They should probably teach you how long HIV can survive outside of the body then, as you seem to be quite confused about that one.
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And who would be “they”
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The NSA, lol idk? Obama?
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Thanks for the article… Insightful and helpful!! (from the perspective of the “uneducated”).. Good work!
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Lol…I hate using terms like that, but when you remove the sugar coating, it is what it is
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I believe that Ebola is not contagious until you have symptoms, however, if sneezing the first symptom, or coughing, or fever, or whatever…well, then, we’re fucked…
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Exactly….but I said you could spread it…not that you’re contagious…theres a difference 🙂
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Do you know the definition of contagious?
(of a disease) spread from one person or organism to another by direct or indirect contact.
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Being contagious is when you’re infected, and acting as a host, who’s cells are replicating the virus and then sending them back out into the environment to infect other hosts. However. If you get infected bodily fluids on you, you can infect others with those bodily fluids without you ever getting infected. This is called being a fomite. If a flu patient sneezes on me at work, but I’m wearing a mask, I probably won’t get sick, but if I come home and hug my wife, the little virus droplets all in my clothes can get her eyes, nose and mouth, and she can get sick. I was never sick, I was never contagious, but I gave it to her….I don’t see why this is so hard to understand.
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By definition, that’s STILL being contagious. Could not be more simple. It is HIGHLY unlikely that Ebola can be “spread” aka contagious the way you are talking about. If that were the case, as several people have pointed out, the R0 would be higher. You would also see a higher infection rate in Africa. It might do you some good to learn statistics in addition to your ability to promote fear.
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The woman who infected the Dallas patient infected 20 other people… you keep talking about R0 as if that means anything, when its your kid or mom who is sick, is that going to matter? HIV is a life long illness and is R4. In 30 years, 35 million people have died. Ebola is half as contagious, but you only have it for 2 weeks or so. But let’s just run some numbers then. Mr Duncan, by definition was contagious prior to admission, so statistically, he could have infected 2 others. Let’s assume we average a 10 day incubation, and remain at R2. Extrapolate that out with the 50% average mortality rate, and over 6 months you have 262,000 infections and 131,000 deaths. Back to the contagious part, so what you are saying is that if I dipped my finger in the blood of an Ebola patient, and then stuck my finger in your mouth, you could not possibly get infected because I was not showing symptoms? Google Fomite, seriously. And at the end of the day, we have a horrific illness that has never been in this country, and now it is, and a little fear is a bad thing? I’m sorry that you live in a world that has no concerns. Remember, I’m a nurse, I’ve seen and lots of things that would make people feel faint. Things people dont want to hear because its “gross”. Because they like ti pretend those things don’t exist, and more importantly, not ever happen to them. But I’ve seen it, and done it. I’m far from naive and know the reality of human mortality. So what’s wrong with a little fear, if it keeps people alive? Its the fear of the flu that gets people vaccinated, fear of STDs that promotes safe sex. Fear is a natural human reaction who’s purpose is to keep you away from danger. Do you honestly think there is NOTHING to fear? BTW, you may have heard Mr Duncan died, I’m sure his family would love to hear how insignificant this was.
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Good lord you are dense.
“and over 6 months you have 262,000 infections and 131,000 deaths”
Do you know when this outbreak started? There have been 4,000 deaths in Africa since the beginning. So, by your math, this should have started approximately 63 days ago. Your numbers simply cannot be supported with previous evidence. In addition, don’t you think if this was as contagious as you say, that Duncan’s family who was quarantined in his apartment for 2 days after he was in the hospital (in addition to the 2 days he was living there) would have ebola? Let’s once again do the math. We’ll assume that it is highly contagious and Duncan infected 2 people of the 4 in the house. He sought treatment (showing symptoms) on Sept. 25. 15 days have now elapsed. Statistically, if it takes up to 21 days to show symptoms, then we are 2/3 the way through. Meaning AT LEAST one should be showing symptoms now.
Would I eat blood? Fuck no, I’m not a vampire. I’m not claiming to be an expert about Ebola like you are. All I know is math. And your math sucks. It doesn’t matter how much you scream 2+2 = 131,000. 2+2 will only ever be 4. Your method does. not. add. up. In addition to studies being published that it is not spread through air. But, by all means mr. nurse, go ahead. I think I’ll see an actual doctor when I get sick.
nurse != doctor != disease expert != CDC
“BTW, you may have heard Mr Duncan died, I’m sure his family would love to hear how insignificant this was.” I live in Dallas. Thanks though. And I’m 100% sure I never said his death was insignificant. I’m observing the panic in Dallas, closing down schools that have no chance of being infected with Ebola, because people like you claim that “2%” (no source provided) will be infected from someone who is not contagious. It is ridiculous. pls kill economy, i is scared.
Do I think we should take it seriously? Absolutely. But taking it seriously is miles away from the ridiculous numbers you claim.
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That was extrapolated out over 6 months, 1 person infects 2, ~10 days later those two eaxh infect 2 others, so now there’s, 4, those each infect 2, so now there’s 8, and so on. All you’ve done is prove my point that in the real world statistics don’t mean anything. Also I’m not claiming to be anything close to an expert as I blatently stated in the first paragraph. As far as the blood is concerned, go read my message again. If you are considered contagious to spread the disease, and cannot be contagious until you show symptoms, then without symptoms, I can not spread the disease, correct. So in my example, an Ebola patient bled on me, and then I got that blood into your system…he has ebola, and now you have it. I did not suddenly start shoeing symptoms in 12 seconds in order to infect you. This is a credible example to the nursing world I clean a ton of wounds, some sterile, some clean, some infected. If I clean a wound infected with staph, then go clean a sterile wound, and don’t take the proper precautions, the sterile wound will likely get staph. Did I get infected? No, will I show symptoms, no. But I still spread the staph from one person to another. I was never contagious. If I HAVE to be contagious to spread a disease, then I’ve been contagious with a hell of a lot of things for many years
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“All you’ve done is prove my point that in the real world statistics don’t mean anything”
*facepalm*
*facepalm*
*facepalm*
*facepalm*
*facepalm*
*facepalm*
It’s because you don’t know how to use them.
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Explain the R2 concept in terms of the current outbreak in West Africa
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This article is scary but we should have a healthy fear of Ebola. Lots of information but what I didn’t see is how to protect myself and my family. I am traveling across the country in less than 2 days, now I’m scared. How can I be safe on the plane?
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So far the cases are so few and far between that you have a better chance of getting struck by lightening
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Thank you for the excellent information. This clarified so many questions I’ve had. I’ve been losing sleep trying to decide what will make me decide to hole up at home with my children. Perhaps it’s when the number if Ebola cases reaches a certain number (which one?) , or perhaps it’s when the first case is diagnosed within 200 miles of my home/work along the I-70 corridor. We discussed this at work today (higher ed institution), and we all agreed that we should be at high alert. No one felt we were over-reacting, and we’re from a variety of backgrounds and life experience. I’ll be sharing this post with them. Thanks again.
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Yeah I would get concerned when two things happen… when the govt can no longer track the exposures, and when it gets into my town
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One only has to watch the movie outbreak to know we don’t have a handle on Ebola.
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I for one want to thank you for sharing this very important information with us about Ebola. I cannot stress to you how much this means to me and how much you have really helped us.
You see, I almost lost my husband this year when he came down ill with the H1N1 Virus…better known as the (Bird Flu). The Dr’s didn’t give think he would pull through, but he did!
I pray that the Ebola outbreak will not continue the way it is going.
Again, I sincerely thank you for sharing this very important information with us!
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I for one want to thank you for sharing this very important information with us about Ebola. I cannot stress to you how much this means to me and how much you have really helped us.
You see, I almost lost my husband this year when he came down ill with the H1N1 Virus…better known as the (Bird Flu). The Dr’s didn’t think he would pull through, but he did!
I pray that the Ebola outbreak will not continue the way it is going.
Again, I sincerely thank you for sharing this very important information with us!
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Loved reading this article. I very much appreciated your perspective and informed insight to something that is so new to the States. Though I’m not generally panicky about the many things that can kill us on a daily basis, I do believe that this whole outbreak has been taken way too flippantly and kept as hush, hush as possible. You have a great perspective that I’m sure thousands of people greatly appreciate. And to your critics: haters will hate.
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A huge worry is the healthcare workers that are exposed and then quarantined, who will take care of the sick then? You were spot on and your info is more accurate than anything the CDC is sharing. IV fluids are one of the most important items needed for the treatment and is already becoming hard to get before this happened, thanks to the drug companies. Keep your hands away from your eyes, nose and mouth. Most hospitals also have limited rooms they can use for quarantine.
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Excellent article/perspective! Thank you very much for taking the time to educate everyone. I’m not in the health care industry, but suspected several of the things you confirm in your article with respect to how it can spread. I don’t think people understand this, and the talking heads certainly don’t do a good job of explaining it. In my opinion, they don’t want to scare people. I agree we shouldn’t scare the public, but I think they could be a bit more candid. Especially, with respect to what contagious really means. I’ve listened to a few of the CDC new conferences it in my opinion, they have never adequately conveyed that you can be contagious, but not symptomatic to the extent it would be obvious you have contracted Ebola.
Thanks again!!!
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Reblogged this on gottagetagift and commented:
I ran across this article via Facebook which was posted by another nurse. I know she recognized the ring of truth and wanted others to read this.
I’m not a nurse although my family and I have experienced serious illness which led me to learn as much as possible from research and asking doctors a lot of questions.
My point is to keep in mind it can happen to anyone. It doesn’t always happen to someone else.
Granted Ebola is new to all of us in this country and we are just learning, but I am taking it seriously which is why I wanted to reblog this.
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Lost my job as a med/surg nurse at the local hosp last april,was despondent for quite awhile,,,now?All I can think is Thank you GOD !!!
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I appreciate this article. My husband and I both agree that we are not getting enough information from the media. Although it’s scary, I would rather be informed. I am going to reblog this.
Thank You.
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Thanks for the reblog
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We can close the flights from countries that have rampant Ebola without shutting them off from help. The military can and does have flights going there to help them. They are setting up hospitals there to treat medical personnel, as well as hospitals to treat citizens. Healthcare workers wearing hazmat suits are indeed contracting Ebola and no one seems to know why. Perhaps it us spread when they remove the suits, if they know why, they are not sharing that with us. If enough Americans become ill, we will not have resources to help other countries. Ebola has been around a long time but this strain is somehow different. I see a lot of different infectious issues and we sometimes are not aware the patient has it. We try to be cautious and proceed with the idea it is possible to protect the next patient.
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