Ebola

[hollohas]

The CDC and other health officials believe Ebola won't become a big deal here because we have better facilities and can identify infected patients quickly. And that may all be true. However, by their own admission, the number one red flag they have been using with potential patients here is IF they have been to Africa. The symptoms aren't really an indicator.

Today, if a person with flu like symptoms comes to the hospital and says they have been to Africa, they are flagged as a potential Ebola case. If a person with flu like symptoms comes to the hospital and says they have never been to Africa, they get sent home.

So what happens when travel to Africa can't be used as a factor for diagnosis? Like now that people could have been exposed while on US soil? Do they isolate ANYONE that has flu like symptoms that have been to Dallas? What if more people turn up infected in other cities? The test isn't quick, so what's the plan for identifying potential cases quickly when travel to Africa no longer matters?

IF more cases turn up here, I think it's a real possibility that hospitals miss some infected individuals and send them home with a seasonal flu diagnosis. And if that happens, I believe Ebola has the potential to spread more than they want us to believe.

PS - turns out this guy in Dallas went to the hospital on the 26th looking for treatment but they sent him home (don't know if he told them his travel history or not, but it lends some proof to my theory above). He didn't go back until two days later when he was finally admitted and isloated. In other words, he was symptomatic, traveled around town and had contact with people for many days before being isolated.