Are We Serious about Stopping the Ebola Virus?

UPDATE! Dallas Health Care Worker Gets Ebola Despite Protective Suit

Is protective gear inadequate?

I found this article on ebola  enlightening...and scary. It got me thinking about all the commotion over the H1N1 virus a few years ago. Think about it -- here was a virus that was much less lethal than ebola and we were getting jammed night and day about it. Of course, the pharmaceutical companies had developed a vaccine and there was lots of money to be gained by convincing everyone to get it. But the seriousness with which it was treated (or should I say hysteria) was continuous.

And yet ---Most of those who caught H1N1 survived. Those who died were mostly the physically compromised and the elderly who developed pneumonia and died from that. But the disease itself killed few.

Now we have a horribly virulent disease with few treatment options (especially in the third world) that kills 50 - 90% of its victims depending on medical care. And what do we find? Government telling us it's hard to catch. Not to worry. Hey...we've got it under control. We're confident it won't be a big deal in the U.S.... Stop flights from infected nations? Not necessary....yadda...yadda...yadda.

How about you? Are you confident they government including the CDC are telling you the truth?

Duncan Dies -- Who Will Be Ebola's Next U.S. Victim?

First U.S. Ebola Fatality

Note the testimony of the CNN correspondent who observed how cavalierly the Atlanta airport treats customers returning from diseased African countries. Did you observe that Duncan made a connecting flight at Dulles in northern Virginia. How many people were exposed there? The incubation period for ebola can be as long as 21 days. Duncan arrived in the U.S. on September 20th, already infected with the virus. Think of the close contact on airline flights. How confident would you feel right now if you were travelling on one of the flights he took? What if you shared a row?

Timetable:

Yikes! Is This the Way to Deal with a Deadly Disease?

Outrage! Ebola vomit washed down storm drain

Two Patients in D.C. Area Hospitals Exhibit "Ebola-Like Symptoms"

UPDATE 10/4/14: The Shady Grove patient is suffering from malaria, not ebola. (from WAPO article)

Shady Grove Hospital and Howard University Hospital...

There are also two cases in Richmond, Virginia being evaluated.

Read more here.

Don't panic, but keep in mind that none of us knows the day or the hour. When was the last time you went to Confession?

CDC: They're Either Lying about Ebola or They're "Grossly Incompetent"

Doctor Dons Ebola Protection Gear to Fly

More Ebola Cases Expected in U.S. 

Sounds like we are in for a rocky ride ahead. I wonder how the Spanish Influenza pandemic started. We may find out. And as you listen to these docs assuring us that there's nothing to worry about consider the respiratory virus hospitalizing hundreds of children across the mid-west. Do you really believe that the ebola virus is hard to catch? Guess we'll find out.