Ebola and other Epidemics, Inadequate Healthcare Threatens Millions

[Liep]

We have another Ebola scare at Hvidovre Hospital! Stay tuned for the next 4-6 hours while blood samples are being examined.

[jimmy olsen]

 

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/u-s-overly-confident-ebola-control/

Is the U.S. overly confident about Ebola control?
October 15, 2014 at 6:40 PM EDT

...

JUDY WOODRUFF: Finally and quickly, Laurie Garrett, any new information, any — what is your understanding right now of whether progress, there is a sense of progress being made in these West African countries that, of course, have a much worse problem at this point with Ebola?

LAURIE GARRETT: Well, Judy, of course, we all know the only way you are going to have 100 percent for America is to stop the epidemic at its source.

And there, unfortunately, we have some very bad news. Today, for the first time in WHO's situation — daily situation report assessing how things are moving along, they had to concede they had no data from Liberia. It's gotten so bad and so extensive that nobody really can even come up with numbers to put forward.

So the numbers you led with, roughly 9,000 cumulative cases and roughly approaching 5,000 deaths, everybody now admits these numbers are not even close to providing a reflection of reality, that it is almost certainly well over 22,000 cumulative cases at this point and approaching 15,000 or 16,000 deaths.

And as this keeps going out of control, it gets harder and harder to even have a glimpse of the reality of the size and scope of the problem. So while we're very focused here in America on two cases, let's keep in mind safety for us is stopping something that is orders of magnitude bigger overseas.

[Grey Fox]

The European Commission's humanitarian arm (ECHO) has been pushing for military medical intervention, its health adviser, Jorge Castilla-Echenique, told Reuters in Dakar in September.5

"The European Commission wants [US] Army and Seal protection teams to come here and produce an air bridge to keep the health workers and aid flowing. I'm talking about a MASH like operation," said Castilla-Echenique, referring to US mobile army surgical hospitals that can serve as fully functional health facilities.

How about your own guys?

They don't have that capability and no money to pay for one.

[derspiess]

Liberia says it needs 80,000 more body bags for the next six months.
It really strikes home how terrible the situation is when the only thing that comes to mind when reading that is "how optomistic".

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/10/15/liberia-needs-79940-more-body-bags/

One C-17 ought to be able to air drop those.

No shit.  And we could just mail them the vaccine once we have it.

But oh no let's send the 101st Airborne over there

[frunk]

No shit.  And we could just mail them the vaccine once we have it.

I'm sure that'll help a lot in a few years.

[crazy canuck]

Didn't he say he worked at this hospital? He's probably a bit busy.

Yeah, I don't think anything he said warrants giving him a hard time about, plus guys, he's actually doing stuff, important stuff to some people and probably the wider community.

Except the part where he said that US medical facilities have both the knowledge and supplies to avoid infection - the supplies perhaps but it turns out not near the training required.  And the part where he said that medical professionals in US hospitals can avoid infection better than in Africa. 

The infection rate in Africa for the Doctors without Borders medical professionals is a lot better than in the US atm.

[derspiess]

No shit.  And we could just mail them the vaccine once we have it.

I'm sure that'll help a lot in a few years.

Well, like I said before-- send over other stuff as well.  Just not people. 

[crazy canuck]

No shit.  And we could just mail them the vaccine once we have it.

I'm sure that'll help a lot in a few years.

Sooner than that.  Human trials on a vaccine developed in Canada has been fast tracked and started this week.  If it proves effective and safe it will be ready to ship by December.  The plan is to use it on health care professionals and family members of those infected first.  Then spread out from there.  The goal is to cut off Ebola from being able to spread and then move to a general vacination so that it can be eradicated.

It has proven 100% effective on monkeys.  Even those that had recently been infected.  So there is a lot of hope the vaccine will work.   The problem, of course, is that in the meantime the WHO is forecasting that as many as 10,000 people per week will become infected and that 70% of those will die.

[jimmy olsen]

Plenty of treatments that have worked in monkeys fail in humans. It's not a done deal like you're implying.

[crazy canuck]

Plenty of treatments that have worked in monkeys fail in humans. It's not a done deal like you're implying.

I am implying that it is now being tested and the people doing the testing are very hopeful.  Wait.  I am not actually implying that.  That is actually what I said.  Dumbass.

[Jacob]

Plenty of treatments that have worked in monkeys fail in humans. It's not a done deal like you're implying.

I am implying that it is now being tested and the people doing the testing are very hopeful.  Wait.  I am not actually implying that.  That is actually what I said.  Dumbass.

He's a Timass, a particular subset of dumbass.

[derspiess]

LOL DONBASS

[Jacob]

LOL DONBASS

[CountDeMoney]

LOL DONBASS

Lulz, bungles

[KRonn]

The European Commission's humanitarian arm (ECHO) has been pushing for military medical intervention, its health adviser, Jorge Castilla-Echenique, told Reuters in Dakar in September.5

"The European Commission wants [US] Army and Seal protection teams to come here and produce an air bridge to keep the health workers and aid flowing. I'm talking about a MASH like operation," said Castilla-Echenique, referring to US mobile army surgical hospitals that can serve as fully functional health facilities.

How about your own guys?

They don't have that capability and no money to pay for one.

If true that they don't have it and can't create such facilities, that is just very sad commentary.