Ebola news 10/24

[Buster's Uncle]

NYC tries to ease Ebola fear after doctor infected
Associated Press
By JONATHAN LEMIRE and COLLEEN LONG  12 minutes ago



Health officials say a doctor who recently returned to New York City after treating Ebola patients in West Africa has tested positive for the virus, the first confirmed case in the city. (Oct. 23)



NEW YORK (AP) — Mayor Bill de Blasio (dih BLAH'-zee-oh) says a team of disease detectives tracking the movements of a New York City doctor diagnosed with Ebola will soon detail their findings.

Officials say the experts' findings will be released later Friday.

Health Commissioner Mary Bassett says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed the city's Ebola diagnosis for Dr. Craig Spencer.

She says he visited a restaurant, went to a bowling alley and jogged for three miles before being admitted to a hospital Thursday.

Spencer is in isolation. He's in stable condition.

He sought treatment Thursday after measuring a 100.3-degree fever.

A company that handles Ebola decontamination was sent to Spencer's Harlem home.

City officials continued to temper fears and urge calm after Spencer's diagnosis. He had been treating people in West Africa.


http://news.yahoo.com/1st-ebola-case-nyc-3-others-quarantined-060226282.html

[Buster's Uncle]

Travel bans issued in reaction to Ebola
Reuters  19 hours ago



(Reuters) - The deadliest outbreak on record of the Ebola virus has prompted some countries to respond with travel bans, in an attempt to curb the spread of the deadly virus.

The World Health Organization has recommended against any general ban on travel or trade with the West African countries that have been affected by the epidemic. The three countries most affected by the virus are Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. There were a small number of cases in both Senegal and Nigeria, but the WHO declared Senegal Ebola-free on Oct. 18 and declared Nigeria Ebola-free on Oct. 20.

What follows is a list of travel bans imposed by various countries:

Zambia, Aug. 9: Bans travelers from countries affected by the Ebola virus

Kenya, Aug. 16: Bans travelers from Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.

South Africa, Aug. 21: Restricts entry for non-citizens traveling from Guinea, Liberia or Sierra Leone; restrictions could be waived for "absolutely essential travel."

Gabon, Aug. 22: Restricting issuance of entry visas to travelers from Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria on case-by-case basis.

Rwanda, Aug. 22: Bans travelers who have visited Guinea, Liberia, or Sierra Leone in prior 22 days.

Senegal, Aug. 22: Bans flights to and from Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. It also shut its southern land border with Guinea.

Ivory Coast, Aug 23: Closed land borders with Guinea and Liberia. Borders reopened in early October.

Seychelles, Aug. 26: Bans travelers who have visited Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria and Democratic Republic of Congo "for any length of time." Also bans Seychelles nationals from traveling to Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, Nigeria or Democratic Republic of Congo, unless permitted by Public Health Commissioner.

Guyana, Sept. 9: Stops issuing visas to citizens of Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria. Ban not announced until Oct. 16.

Haiti, Oct. 3: Bans volunteers from departing for African countries hit by the Ebola virus; issued after United Nations said it was recruiting volunteers to respond to the Ebola outbreak. It also bans entry to travelers who have been in Guinea, Liberia or Sierra Leone over the previous 28 days. Those who have visited the four countries more than 28 days before seeking to enter Haiti must present a government-certified health certificate and the results of a blood test for Ebola upon arrival.

Mauritius, Oct. 8: Bans travelers who have visited Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia, Senegal and Democratic Republic of Congo in the previous two months. Bans on Senegal and Nigeria lifted Oct. 10 and 17, respectively, provided no new cases of Ebola.

Colombia, Oct. 14: Denies entry to travelers who have visited Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and Nigeria in past four weeks.

St. Kitts and Nevis, Oct. 15: Bans visitors from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. Travelers who have visited the three countries in the previous 21 days will also be banned.

Jamaica, Oct. 16: Bans foreigners arriving from Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone and bans foreigners who have visited any of the four countries within four weeks prior to arrival in Jamaica. Jamaicans who have visited those countries will be quarantined for 28 days.

Antigua and Barbuda, Oct. 17: Bans nationals of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, and bans entry to anyone who has been in those countries in the past 21 days.

Belize, Oct. 18: Stops issuing visas to nationals of Guinea, Liberia and Nigeria. Sierra Leone nationals, who do not need visa to enter Belize, are also banned. Anyone who visits one of these four countries in past 30 days will also be denied entry.

Dominican Republic, Oct. 21: Bans entry to foreigners who have visited countries where the World Health Organization has declared an Ebola alert in the last 30 days.

Suriname, Oct. 21: Bans non-Surinamers who have visited Sierra Leone, Guinea or Liberia in the previous 21 days.

St. Lucia, Oct 22: Nationals from Sierra Leone and Guinea banned from entering.

North Korea, Oct. 23: Bans entry to foreigners on tourist trips due to worries over the spread of Ebola.

Cape Verde: Bans travels by non-resident foreigners who have been in Sierra Leone, Guinea or Liberia in the past 30 days.

Equatorial Guinea: Denies entry to travelers whose trips originated in countries affected by Ebola.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines: Ban visitors from Guinea, Nigeria and Sierra Leone

* Sources: Reuters, government websites, https://www.internationalsos.com/ebola/index.cfm?content_id=435&

(Compiled by Leslie Adler; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)


http://news.yahoo.com/travel-bans-issued-reaction-ebola-221058647.html

[Buster's Uncle]

EU appoints Ebola czar
AFP
20 hours ago



Christos Stylianides of Cyprus, at the European Parliament in Brussels on September 30, 2014 (AFP Photo/John Thys)



Brussels (AFP) - EU leaders on Thursday named Christos Stylianides of Cyprus to coordinate the bloc's fight against Ebola which has claimed nearly 4,900 lives in west Africa.

Stylianides, who will serve as the new EU commissioner for humanitarian aid, was "named EU coordinator for fight against by ," European Union head Herman Van Rompuy said in a tweeted message.

During confirmation hearings in the European Parliament last month, Stylianides told MEPs that he was ready to go to west Africa to see the situation on the ground, winning plaudits.

European Union foreign ministers agreed earlier this week that a single Ebola supremo was the best way to bring together the different EU efforts -- funding, medical staff and facilities plus research -- if the disease was to be contained and brought under control.

Earlier Thursday, the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, said it was in a "race against time" to get ahead of Ebola and make sure it did not establish a foothold elsewhere.

Accordingly, it put up another 24.4 million euros ($31 million) to fund urgently needed research into finding a vaccine for the disease which currently has a fatality rate of around 70 percent.

The funds will be fast-tracked "in order to start work as soon as possible," the Commission said, with the latest figures showing nearly 4,900 dead and 10,000 cases in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

"We're in a race against time on Ebola and we must address both the emergency situation and at the same time have a long term response," Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso said.

The Commission said it was working with industry to develop vaccines, drugs and diagnostics for Ebola.

So far the European Commission and the 28 individual member states have pledged more than 600 million euros (760$ million) in humanitarian and other aid to help deal with a health crisis which according to the World Health Organization could shortly be producing 10,000 cases a week.

The WHO is coordinating global efforts to control Ebola amid hopes experimental vaccines now being tested could be available early next year.


http://news.yahoo.com/eu-names-cypriot-ebola-czar-202658189.html

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In reaction to the EU appointment Russian leader Vladimir Putin appointed himself Czar Czar.

[Buster's Uncle]

Ebola cases could spur lawsuits _ with big hurdles
Associated Press
By MATT SEDENSKY and MICHAEL TARM  12 hours ago



In the Oct. 18, 2014 file photo, Garteh Korkoryah, center, mother of Thomas Eric Duncan, is comforted during a memorial service for her son. It may not matter much that Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas apologized for initially misdiagnosing Duncan, who was sent home from the emergency room but later returned sicker and farther along on a painful decline to death from Ebola. Insulated by Texas tort reform that gives an extra layer of protection to emergency room doctors and nurses, not only is the very feasibility of winning a lawsuit complicated, but the potential payout is severely capped. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond, File)



DALLAS (AP) — In a land of lawsuits, this case seems made for litigation: A doctor appears to miss a red flag, an Ebola diagnosis is delayed, and a patient dies. But this is Texas.

It may not matter much that Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas apologized for initially misdiagnosing Thomas Eric Duncan, who was sent home from the ER but later returned sicker and farther along on a painful decline to death. Insulated by Texas tort reform that gives an extra layer of protection to emergency room doctors and nurses, not only is the very feasibility of winning complicated, but the potential payout is severely capped.

"Emergency room health care providers in Texas have virtual immunity," said Steve Laird, a personal injury lawyer in Fort Worth. "The Duncan family's chances of prevailing would be slim to none."

Trial lawyers and health care providers squared off when Proposition 12 went before Texas voters in 2003, with Gov. Rick Perry cheerleading the constitutional amendment he said was aimed at quelling a loss of doctors and a surge of frivolous lawsuits. Millions were pumped into the most expensive ballot measure campaign in the state's history, and it narrowly passed.

The law puts a $250,000 limit on noneconomic damages related to pain and suffering in almost all cases. Additional economic damages are still possible to recoup lost wages on behalf of a parent, legal or common-law spouse or children. But because Duncan was a chauffeur from a poor, war-torn country who had just arrived in the U.S. and was not working, the hurdles may be higher and the payout lower.

Duncan's sister and nephew say they are considering a lawsuit. Any potential litigation would likely point to the drumbeat of warnings and publicity about Ebola prior to his arrival at Presbyterian as evidence a reasonable person should have known about the threat.



In this Oct. 10, 2014 file photo, Josephus Weeks, nephew of ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan who died from Ebola, looks through hundreds of pages of medical documents in a hotel room in Kannapolis, N.C. It may not matter much that Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas apologized for initially misdiagnosing Duncan, who was sent home from the emergency room but later returned sicker and farther along on a painful decline to death. Insulated by Texas tort reform that gives an extra layer of protection to emergency room doctors and nurses, not only is the very feasibility of winning a lawsuit complicated, but the potential payout is severely capped. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed, KJ)


Many states have instituted malpractice caps. But the facility where Duncan was given a diagnosis of sinusitis and sent home happened to be the emergency room, which is especially shielded under Texas law. Instead of simply requiring proof of negligence to win, plaintiffs must demonstrate that any negligence in the ER was "willful and wanton."

"You have to show that they basically knew what they were doing was going to cause harm," said Brent Walker, a Dallas personal injury lawyer. "It's something a whole lot more than 'Oops, I shouldn't have done that.'"

The state Department of Insurance said Thursday that the number of medical malpractice claims fell by 64 percent between 2003 and 2012, and the average payout dropped by one-third. Walker says his law firm now turns down dozens of medical malpractice cases a month that would have otherwise been considered legally viable.

"The emergency room claims have virtually disappeared," he said. "There have been vanishingly few."

Central to any case over Duncan's death would be what the caregivers knew. In Duncan's first ER visit, a nurse logged the fact that he had recently traveled from Africa, where the largest outbreak of Ebola ever recorded is occurring. But there's no indication in his medical records — which his family provided to The Associated Press — that the treating physician received that information.



This 2011 photo provided by Wilmot Chayee shows Thomas Eric Duncan at a wedding in Ghana. It may not matter much that Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas apologized for initially misdiagnosing Duncan, who was sent home from the emergency room but later returned sicker and farther along on a painful decline to death from Ebola. Insulated by Texas tort reform that gives an extra layer of protection to emergency room doctors and nurses, not only is the very feasibility of winning a lawsuit complicated, but the potential payout is severely capped. (AP Photo/Wilmot Chayee)


Presbyterian said the fact "was not communicated effectively among the care team." A hospital spokesman said changes have been implemented to make sure travel histories are captured upon the patient's arrival in the ER and that the electronic record system better documents and displays the information. The hospital has acknowledged its training on the virus also "had not been fully deployed."

Some attorneys say a lack of ample preparation given the warnings and the initial dismissal of Duncan might be enough to at least convince the hospital to settle.

"What they did may meet the most basic standard of recklessness," said Stewart Weltman, a Chicago attorney who has tried malpractice cases.

Duncan's second visit to Presbyterian ended with his death on Oct. 8. Dozens of medical professionals cared for him, and two of his nurses contracted Ebola. Those women, Nina Pham and Amber Vinson, could also pursue lawsuits, claiming they were not kept safe by their employer.

Vinson's family has hired high-profile attorney Billy Martin, who previously represented NFL player Michael Vick. Walker said any potential lawsuit on behalf of Vinson or Pham would likely have to seek a payout through the state worker's compensation system. But if the women fully recover and eventually are able to return to normal lives, he said, any settlement likely would be limited.

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Tarm reported from Chicago.

___

Associated Press writers Will Weissert in Austin and Emily Schmall in Fort Worth contributed to this report.


http://news.yahoo.com/ebola-cases-could-spur-lawsuits-big-hurdles-053939697.html

[Buster's Uncle]

$100 mn Ebola pledge from Microsoft co-founder Allen
AFP  21 hours ago



Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen arrives at Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World dinner on May 8, 2008 in New York (AFP Photo/Stan Honda)



Washington (AFP) - Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Paul Allen said Thursday he was boosting his donations to combat the Ebola outbreak in West Africa to $100 million.

Allen, who has made earlier donations to the health effort, said his latest pledge would include funding the development and manufacture of two medevac containment units to allow the US State Department to evacuate medical professionals from hard-hit West Africa.

Allen will also donate to the World Health Organization "to increase its capacity to coordinate the logistics required to transport international aid workers," according to a statement.

"The chilling reality of Ebola should motivate us to safeguard society and take action to stop this pandemic. Ebola is not somebody else's problem. It is ours," said Allen, who helped found the software company with Bill Gates and sat on its board of directors until 2000.

"The entire global community needs to step up now with resources that match the speed and scale of this growing outbreak."

Allen said individuals, corporate donors and others should do their part to contain the threat from the disease.

"If you are an individual who wants to be a part of the solution, please donate what you can," he said, citing a contribution website, tackleebola.com.

"And, if you are a major donor, corporation or foundation that is in the unique position like me to give generously, let's partner. We know from history that with timely and coordinated action, we can start to contain this disease."

Allen, who also is an owner of several sports franchises, is the latest member of the tech community to pledge funding to fight the deadly disease.

He has previously donated at least $15 million, according to US media.

Gates, through his Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has offered $50 million to fight Ebola, while Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife have offered $25 million.


http://news.yahoo.com/100-mn-ebola-pledge-microsoft-co-founder-allen-212512692.html

[Buster's Uncle]

Ivory Coast launches manhunt for Ebola suspect
AFP  11 hours ago



Medical staff wearing protective masks wait for passengers arriving from Guinea at Abidjan's airport on October 20, 2014 (AFP Photo/Issouf Sanogo)



Abidjan (AFP) - The Ivory Coast, currently free of the Ebola epidemic ravaging its neighbours, has launched a hunt for a Guinean health worker who may have fled his home country after possibly catching the disease.

The man apparently took fright after finding out that someone who came to his clinic for treatment had died, possibly of Ebola, a senior official at Ivory Coast's National Public Health Institute told AFP.

"For the moment (this person) is not contagious," Daouda Coulibaly said, adding that the health authorities were not alarmed and "there is no panic".

"But it would be good if he got into contact with the health services," he said.

The unnamed health worker comes from an area in Guinea gripped by Ebola, which first broke out in the impoverished west African nation earlier this year and has now killed almost 4,900 people mostly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Ivory Coast has just reopened its airports to flights from the three affected countries, with a first flight from Conakry landing in Abidjan on Monday, but land borders remain closed.


http://news.yahoo.com/ivory-coast-launches-manhunt-ebola-suspect-095349346.html

[Buster's Uncle]

WHO: Mali case put many at risk for Ebola
Associated Press
By BABA AHMED and SARAH DiLORENZO  1 hour ago



Patient Nina Pham is hugged by Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, outside of National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Md., Friday, Oct. 24, 2014. Pham, the first nurse diagnosed with Ebola after treating an infected man at a Dallas hospital is free of the virus. The 26-year-old Pham arrived last week at the NIH Clinical Center. She had been flown there from Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)



BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Many people in Mali are at high risk of catching Ebola because the toddler who brought the disease to the country was bleeding from her nose as she traveled on a bus from Guinea, the World Health Organization warned Friday.

The U.N. agency is treating the situation as an emergency since many people may have had "high-risk exposures" to the 2-year-old girl during her journey through several towns in Mali, including two hours in the capital, Bamako. The girl was traveling with her grandmother.

The toddler died while being treated at a hospital in the western city of Kayes on Friday, according to a statement from the Health Ministry read out on television.

This is the first Ebola case in Mali and may expand to many more. The case highlights how quickly the virus can hop borders and even oceans, just as questions are being asked about what precautions health care workers who treat Ebola patients should take when they return home from the hot zone. Doctors Without Borders insisted Friday, after one of its doctors who worked in Guinea came down with Ebola in New York, that quarantines of returning health workers are not necessary when they do not show symptoms of the disease.

In the Mali case, however, the girl was visibly sick, WHO said, and an initial investigation has identified 43 people, including 10 health workers, she came into close contact with who are being monitored for symptoms and held in isolation. The child was confirmed to have Ebola on Thursday.

"The child's symptomatic state during the bus journey is especially concerning, as it presented multiple opportunities for exposures — including high-risk exposures — involving many people," the agency said in a statement.



A woman reads alert on Ebola inside the Bellevue Hospital where Dr. Craig Spencer is being treated for Ebola symptoms in New York October 23, 2014. Spencer, who worked in West Africa with Ebola patients, tested positive for Ebola and is in isolation at the hospital. (REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz)


The girl first went to a clinic in Mali on Monday and she was initially treated for typhoid, which she tested positive for. When she did not improve, she was tested for Ebola.

Mali has long been considered highly vulnerable to Ebola's spread since it shares a border with the Ebola-hit countries of Guinea and Senegal, and staff from WHO and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were already there helping to prepare for a case. More WHO staff are being deployed.

The Ebola outbreak began in Guinea and has since spread to five other West African countries. The virus has also been imported to Spain and the United States. On Thursday, Craig Spencer, who had been working with Doctors Without Borders in Guinea and returned home to the U.S. about a week before, reported a fever and is now being treated at a New York hospital.

Some countries have banned travelers from the three main Ebola countries — Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone — and the U.S. started health screening of travelers arriving from there. But Doctors Without Borders said having its staffers quarantine themselves after leaving a country with Ebola is going too far if no symptoms are evident. A person infected with Ebola is not contagious until he or she starts showing symptoms.

"As long as a returned staff member does not experience any symptoms, normal life can proceed," Doctors Without Borders said in a statement sent to The Associated Press on Friday. "Self-quarantine is neither warranted nor recommended when a person is not displaying Ebola-like symptoms."



Ebola outbreak in west Africa, Nigeria and aboard as of Oct. 25, 2014. (World Health Organization/Yahoo News)


"Extremely strict procedures are in place for staff dispatched to Ebola affected countries before, during, and after their assignments," said Sophie Delaunay, the group's executive director, said in a statement. "Despite the strict protocols, risk cannot be completely eliminated. However, close post-assignment monitoring allows for early detection of cases and for swift isolation and medical management."

The group is investigating how Spencer became infected, it said.

Several spokespeople for the group refused to say where Spencer had been working in Guinea. Doctors Without Borders runs two treatment centers in Guinea: one in Gueckedou, in the southeast where the outbreak began, and the other in Conakry. It also runs a center near Gueckedou where patients are screened for Ebola and then sent for treatment if they have the disease.

Doctors Without Borders tells health workers who are returning home after a tour of duty that they must stay within four hours of a hospital with isolation facilities. It asks them to take their temperature twice a day and to be vigilant for symptoms, which include a fever.

The group said Spencer followed these procedures and immediately notified the New York office when he came down with a fever.

The group discourages staff returning from West Africa from going back to work before the incubation period is up, so they can recover from the grueling work in the field and also so they don't pick up an infection while at work whose symptoms may look like Ebola, causing unnecessary anxiety.

___

DiLorenzo reported from Dakar, Senegal. Associated Press writers Boubacar Diallo in Conakry, Guinea, Clarence Roy-Macaulay in Freetown, Sierra Leone, Jonathan Paye-Layleh in Monrovia, Liberia, and John Heilprin in Geneva contributed to this report.


http://news.yahoo.com/doctors-without-borders-ebola-risk-cant-zero-120707049.html

[Buster's Uncle]

Dallas nurse receives thanks, hug from Obama
Associated Press
By JESSICA GRESKO  20 minutes ago



President Barack Obama hugs Ebola survivor Nina Pham in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Friday, Oct. 24, 2014, in Washington. Pham, the first nurse diagnosed with Ebola after treating an infected man at a Dallas hospital is free of the virus. The 26-year-old Pham arrived last week at the NIH Clinical Center. She had been flown there from Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas. Pham's mother Diana, center, and sister Cathy watch. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)



BETHESDA, Md. (AP) — A nurse who caught Ebola while caring for a Dallas patient who died of the disease walked out of a Washington-area hospital virus-free Friday and into open arms.

Nina Pham got a hug from President Barack Obama in the Oval Office at the White House. And outside the hospital where she had been since last week, she got hugs from the nation's infectious disease chief, who oversaw her care.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest called the meeting with Obama "an opportunity for the president to thank her for her service." But the close contact between the president and the former patient also came as officials in New York tried to calm fears after a doctor was diagnosed with Ebola in that city.

Pham said she felt "fortunate and blessed to be standing here today," as she left the National Institutes of Health's Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, where she had been since she arrived Oct. 16 from Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas.

Pham thanked her health care teams in Dallas and at the NIH and singled out fellow Ebola survivor Dr. Kent Brantly, who recovered after becoming infected in Liberia, for donating plasma containing Ebola-fighting antibodies as part of her care.

"Although I no longer have Ebola, I know it may be a while before I have my strength back," Pham said at a news conference.

Dr. Anthony Fauci,, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told reporters that five consecutive tests showed no virus left in her blood. Five tests is way beyond the norm, he stressed, but his team did extra testing because the NIH is a research hospital. He had walked out to the news conference with his arm around Pham and later gave her a big hug.

"She is cured of Ebola, let's get that clear," Fauci said.

Pham stood throughout the approximately 20-minute press conference and was joined by her mother and sister. She read from a prepared statement and took no questions, but she called her experience "very stressful and challenging for me and for my family."

"I ask for my privacy and for my family's privacy to be respected as I return to Texas and try to get back to a normal life and reunite with my dog Bentley," she said, drawing laughter with the mention of her 1-year-old King Charles spaniel. Bentley has been in quarantine since Pham's diagnosis but has tested negative for the virus.

Pham is one of two nurses in Dallas who became infected with Ebola while treating Thomas Eric Duncan, who traveled to the United States from Liberia and died of the virus Oct. 8. The second nurse, Amber Vinson, is being treated at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, which on Friday issued a statement saying she "is making good progress" and that tests no longer detect virus in her blood.

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Associated Press writers Lauran Neergaard and Jim Kuhnhenn in Washington contributed to this report.


http://news.yahoo.com/federal-officials-dallas-nurse-free-ebola-150512381.html

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I wonder if they'll line up to hug the Black nurse - if she lives.

[Buster's Uncle]

Nurse Nina Pham Ebola-free, meets Obama
Official: She will be able to ‘visit, hold and play’ with her quarantined dog on Saturday
Yahoo News
By Jason Sickles, 7 hours ago



President Barack Obama hugs Ebola survivor Nina Pham at the Oval Office. (Reuters/Larry Downing)
 


DALLAS — After nearly two weeks in isolation, Ebola patient Nina Pham walked out of a Maryland hospital on Friday free of the deadly disease that has seized the nation’s attention.

“She has no virus in her,” said Dr. Tony Fauci, director of the National Institutes of Health. “She is cured of Ebola, let's get that clear.”

Fauci's boss' boss got the message. President Barack Obama invited Pham and her family to the White House where he gave the Ebola survivor a big hug.

Pham — one of two Texas nurses to contract the disease while caring for the country’s first Ebola patient — was hopeful and humble as she left the hospital Friday morning.

“I am on my way back to recovery even as I reflect on how many others have not been so fortunate,” Pham said. “I do not know how I can ever thank everyone enough for their prayers and their expressions of concerns, hope and love.”

Still, the 26-year-old acknowledged the ordeal “has been very stressful and challenging for me and my family.”

“Although I no longer have Ebola, I know it may be a while before I have my strength back,” Pham said.

Pham and her colleague, Amber Vinson, were among 50 to 70 health care workers involved in the treatment of Liberian citizen Thomas Eric Duncan at Texas Health Presbyterian in Dallas from Sept. 28 to Oct. 8.

Duncan arrived in Texas from Ebola-ravaged Liberia on Sept. 20. The disease, which kills more than half the people it infects, has claimed the lives of more than 4,000 people in West Africa in 2014, the World Health Organization estimates. There is no known cure.

Duncan, 42, was the first person to ever be diagnosed with Ebola in the United States. Investigators have not determined how Pham and Vinson specifically contracted the disease from Duncan, who  died on his 10th day of intensive care  at Texas Health Presbyterian. Ebola is transmitted through bodily fluids and secretions, including blood, mucus, feces and vomit of an ill or deceased person.

Pham, a nurse for four years, was the first hospital employee to become ill. She reportedly felt a fever while at home two days after Duncan's death and drove herself to the hospital's ER. Her Ebola was confirmed on Oct. 12. It was the first time the deadly virus has been transmitted in the United States. Vinson was diagnosed on Oct. 14.

Both nurses were initially treated by their employer in Dallas before being flown last week to separate facilities with specialized units trained in treating Ebola.

Earlier this week, Vinson's family announced that the 29-year-old is in good condition and Ebola-free at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. Hospital officials confirmed her recovery on Friday, but said a date for Vinson's discharge has not be determined.

Approximately 100 people in the Dallas area — most of them health care workers who were involved in the treatment of Duncan, Pham or Vinson — are still being monitored for Ebola symptoms.



Nurse Nina Pham and her dog, Bentley (Facebook)


Pham received a plasma transfusion from Ebola-survivor Dr. Kent Brantly while in Dallas, but Fauci said the nurse was not given experimental drugs while at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. He said he could not pinpoint a milestone moment in her recovery.

“The only thing that we’re really happy about is that the turning point occurred,” Fauci said. “It is virtually impossible to say this is the thing that did it and this is the thing that didn’t do it.”

Pham, who walked out of the hospital flanked by her mother and sister, drew applause and laughter when she announced that she was ready to “get back to Texas and reunite with my dog Bentley.”

Bentley, a 1-year-old year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, has become somewhat of a celebrity during Pham’s illness. He was rescued from the nurse’s apartment while it was being decontaminated and is being monitoring for Ebola symptoms.

“I’m excited to welcome her home and I know that Bentley will be glad to see her,” Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said in a written statement. “Although Bentley remains under quarantine united the end of the month, Nina will be able to visit, hold and play with him tomorrow. I know that will be good for both of them.”

The Oval Office detour before departing for Dallas was a fitting sendoff for someone Fauci described as an “extraordinarily courageous and lovely person.”

“She represents the nurses and health care workers who put themselves on the line and put themselves in risk to take care of people who are in such need,” Fauci said.

(This story was updated at 2:50 p.m. ET.)


http://news.yahoo.com/nurse-nina-pham-free-of-ebola--nih-announces-151247275.html

[Buster's Uncle]

Ebola cases in New York and Mali fan travel fears
Associated Press
By CONNIE CASS  29 minutes ago



Mott Hall High School student Brian Binion, right, and fellow students read fliers about Ebola risk, near the apartment building of Ebola patient Dr. Craig Spencer, in New York, Friday, Oct. 24, 2014. Since there's no specific treatment, care is focused on easing symptoms to give the body enough time to fight off an infection, (AP Photo/Richard Drew)



WASHINGTON (AP) — The Ebola virus's arrival in New York City and yet another West African nation — Mali — renewed questions Friday about whether stricter travel restrictions would help lock down the deadly disease. The governors of New York and New Jersey went ahead and issued their own quarantine order.

There was good news, too, as one of the two American nurses who caught Ebola from a patient headed home from the hospital, stopping by the White House to get a celebratory hug from President Barack Obama. European nations pledged more money to fight the virus in Africa.

A look at Ebola developments worldwide:

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NERVOUS NEW YORKERS

Many New Yorkers were rattled by the news that a doctor unknowingly infected with the virus had ridden the subway, visited parks and gone bowling after returning from treating Ebola patients in Guinea.

Health officials said Dr. Craig Spencer followed U.S. and international protocols by checking his temperature daily and seeking treatment Thursday when he suffered diarrhea and a 100.3-degree fever.

He was listed in stable condition Friday at a special isolation unit at Bellevue Hospital Center, and a decontamination company was sent to his Harlem home. His fiancee, who was not showing symptoms, was in quarantine.

Ebola isn't contagious until the infected person becomes ill, and city officials tried to reassure New Yorkers. But some people were breaking out the hand sanitizer and imagining scenarios where Ebola might spread through the city's subway and other crowded spaces.

"There is no cause for alarm," Mayor Bill de Blasio said. "New Yorkers who have not been exposed to an infected person's bodily fluids are simply not at risk."

___

QUARANTINE QUESTION

The New York case prompted the governors of New York and New Jersey to issue a 21-day quarantine for any travelers, including doctors, who had contact with Ebola patients in West Africa.

Earlier in the day, at a congressional hearing, some U.S. lawmakers urged a travel ban or a quarantine. It can take up to 21 days after someone is infected to become sick.

They cited errors in the handling of the Dallas Ebola case and said the New York situation exposed more problems with the government's response to the disease.



People walk past The Meatball Shop, Friday, Oct. 24, 2014, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York. Dr. Craig Spencer, who has been diagnosed with Ebola, recently ate at the restaurant, which was temporarily closed Friday as a precaution. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)


"I can tell you it's not working. All you need to do is look at Craig Spencer," said Rep. John Mica, R-Fla.

Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., said health authorities weren't taking the threat seriously enough.

"This can't just be about ideology and happy talk," Lynch said.

Dr. Nicole Lurie, assistant HHS secretary for preparedness and response, told lawmakers a travel ban would be counterproductive and make it harder to stop the disease in West Africa, where the hardest-hit nations are desperate for more resources and medical help.

"There is an epidemic of fear, but not of Ebola, in the United States," Lurie said.

Doctors Without Borders, which has been at the forefront of the battle against Ebola, stuck by its guidelines for health workers returning from the hot zone. They are closely monitored for disease and don't need to be quarantined if they aren't showing symptoms, the group said in a statement.

Samaritan's Purse, a Christian relief organization based in North Carolina, said that its returning aid workers spend three weeks isolated in a "safe house," where they are monitored for fever and asked to stay away from crowds and not visit with family.

___

NOW IN MALI, TOO

A 2-year-old girl who traveled by bus from Guinea with her grandmother died of Ebola after arriving in Mali. It was the first case in that West African nation, and World Health Organization officials say that because the child was sick and bleeding from her nose, she may have infected many people.

Health officials are monitoring 43 people, including 10 health care workers, who might have been exposed and the WHO is sending experts to help.

The disease is out of control in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Cases also have reached Nigeria and Senegal since the outbreak began in March, but those West African countries were able to stop its spread.

More than 4,800 people have died in the outbreak.

___

NURSES ON THE MEND

The two nurses who caught Ebola from a hospital patient in Dallas are now free of the disease.

The first to fall ill, Nina Pham, left a government hospital near Washington with a big smile, telling reporters she was eager to reunite with her dog, Bentley, who had been put in quarantine. The King Charles Spaniel so far has tested negative for the disease.

"I feel fortunate and blessed to be standing here today," Pham told reporters outside the hospital.

Pham, 26, was invited to the White House afterward, where Obama hugged her and praised the bravery of health care workers who put themselves at risk to help Ebola patients.

Pham and co-worker Amber Vinson were infected while caring for a Liberian man at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas. Thomas Eric Duncan, who became sick after traveling to the U.S., died in the hospital Oct. 8.

Vinson "is making good progress" and tests no longer find any Ebola virus in her blood, Emory University Hospital said in a statement Friday. She remains hospitalized.

___

EUROPE STEPS UP

The 28 nations of the European Union are pledging more than 1 billion euros — or about $1.26 billon — to the Ebola cause.

"Helping West Africa to cope with the crisis is the most effective way to prevent a serious outbreak of the disease elsewhere," EU leaders said Friday in a statement at the end of their two-day fundraising summit.

Britain's contribution of 205 million pounds ($329 million) was the largest in the group.

Separately, China pledged $81 million to the worldwide Ebola effort.


http://news.yahoo.com/ebola-cases-york-mali-fan-travel-fears-204828386--politics.html

[Buster's Uncle]

U.S. considering quarantine for returning Ebola health workers: CDC
Reuters
By David Morgan  2 hours ago



Staff of the emergency medical services in France (SAMU) wear Ebola virus protection outfits during a press presentation at the Necker Hospital in Paris, October 24, 2014. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer



WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration is considering quarantining healthcare workers returning to the United States from the Ebola hot zone of West Africa, after a New York doctor who treated Ebola patients there tested positive for the virus.

Tom Skinner, a spokesman for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told Reuters on Friday that quarantine is one option being discussed by officials from across the administration.

"There are a number of options being discussed pertaining to the monitoring and mobility of healthcare workers who are returning to the United States from affected countries," Skinner said.

"We want to strike the right balance of doing what is best to protect the public’s health while not impeding whatsoever our ability to combat the epidemic in West Africa. Our risk here will not be zero until we stop the epidemic there."

As for a possible quarantine, "that's one of the options on the table," Skinner said.

The CDC-led discussions began on Thursday after Dr. Craig Spencer in New York became the fourth person diagnosed with the disease in the United States.

Skinner said discussions are likely to produce some change in current policy and that the aim is to reach a decision as soon as possible.

The Spencer case has heightened public anxiety about the virus and the Obama administration's response to its arrival on U.S. soil.

Last month, Liberian national Thomas Eric Duncan became the first case diagnosed in the United States after arriving in Dallas from his home country. He died on Oct. 8.

Two nurses who helped treat him came down with Ebola, stirring fear about infection dangers and uncertainty about U.S. preparedness for dealing with the virus.

Current policy calls for returning healthcare workers and military personnel to be monitored for Ebola symptoms during the virus's maximum 21-day incubation period. But lawmakers have expressed concern that those being monitored are also able to resume normal routines, potentially placing members of the public at risk for infection.

"Whatever option we come up with just simply can't hamper ability to respond to the situation in West Africa," Skinner said. "Because as long as that's going on over there, our risk will never be zero."

The United States is undertaking a major effort to contain the worst outbreak of Ebola since the disease was identified in 1976. At least 4,877 people have died of the disease, predominantly in the impoverished West African countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

The U.S. response includes sending up to 4,000 troops as well as doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers to West Africa.

On Friday, Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives took issue with a Pentagon policy that subjects troops to only 10 days of monitoring before they return home from the region. Pentagon officials told lawmakers that troops would still face 21 days of monitoring under current CDC guidelines once home while resuming their normal daily routines.

(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Mohammad Zargham, Eric Beech and Jonathan Oatis)


http://news.yahoo.com/u-considering-quarantine-returning-ebola-health-workers-cdc-191000611.html

[Buster's Uncle]

Man Recovers From Ebola in Germany After Routine Intensive Care
LiveScience.com
By Laura Geggel  1 hour ago



A magnified view of the Ebola virus particles (in red) on the surface of a cell (in blue).



One man who contracted Ebola and even had further complications of the infection has now recovered after receiving routine intensive care at a hospital in Germany.

The man's case suggests that even if patients do not have access to experimental Ebola drugs, health care workers can still help them recover from the disease, the doctors who treated him wrote in their report of the case.

The report echoes other recovery stories, for example, those of the U.S. healthcare workers who were treated at Emory University in Atlanta and Nebraska Medical Center after contracting Ebola in Africa, said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville, who was not involved in the German case.

When it comes to treating Ebola patients, "It's supportive care, supportive care, supportive care," Schaffner told Live Science. "This [new report] confirms it, and shows that when [Ebola] is appropriately treated, the patient can recover."

Ebola has sickened more than 9,000 people and killed at least 4,500 in West Africa since the outbreak began in early 2014, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The man at the center of the new case report was a 36-year-old epidemiologist with the World Health Organization, who contracted Ebola while working in Sierra Leone in August. The man had a fever on the second day of his infection, and by day seven developed nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea. On day 10, officials airlifted him to an isolation facility in Hamburg, Germany.

The man developed several complications in addition to Ebola, including a bacterial blood stream infection and respiratory failure, according to the report, which is published online today (Oct. 22) in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The doctors responded with aggressive treatment, giving the man 2.6 gallons (10 liters) of fluid within his first 72 hours in Germany. They also gave him broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy for his blood infection, and put him on a ventilator to help him breathe.


Lessons learned

Putting a patient with Ebola on a ventilator is no small feat. Some doctors worry that using a ventilator, an invasive procedure, may not be effective, or may put health care workers at risk of contracting the disease.

When workers insert a ventilator tube, "You have to get very close to the patient," Schaffner said. "And even though you're wearing all of your protective garb, you're exposed to all of the secretions in the individual's mouth or nose, depending on which way you put it in."

Health care workers also need to suction mucus out of the patient's mouth and bronchial tubes, when needed, to reduce the risk of pneumonia. Medical professionals regularly insert and maintain ventilators in patients who have infectious diseases, such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV, but because Ebola is highly infectious — meaning exposure to even a tiny amount of body fluids may transmit the infection — the workers were still unsure whether it was safe for medical professionals to insert them into patients with Ebola.

None of the health care workers working with the man contracted the virus, the report said. After the man recovered, he returned to his family in Senegal.

"It's clear now, that when done correctly with appropriate health-care infection control precautions, it can be done effectively," Schaffner said. "That's very, very encouraging."

The enormous amount of intravenous fluids that the doctors gave the man also likely helped him recover, the authors of the case report said.

Dr. Amesh Adalja, a representative of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, agreed this may be a key to treating Ebola patients. "That's what we're hearing about with Ebola patients, including Mr. [Thomas Eric] Duncan [in Dallas], that there was just a tremendous amount of diarrhea, [and it] was very challenging to replace," the lost fluids, Adalja said.

It's unclear whether the man would have recovered faster if he had access to experimental drugs for Ebola, which are still in testing, Adalja said.

"There's still a case to be made for the experimental drug," he said. "But it's clear that supportive care alone clearly made a big difference in this one patient. And it fits with what we know about aggressive supportive care."


http://news.yahoo.com/man-recovers-ebola-germany-routine-intensive-care-000156276.html