OK, I'll Start...Ebola

[Limey]

I don't what the fuck is going on at Texas Health Presbyterian, but they got totally sideswiped by the first patient, Duncan, and have been reeling ever since.  Nurses have (anonymously - under the threat of dismissal) claimed that highly-infectious medical waste from treating Duncan was piled to the ceiling because there was no way to get it removed safely (an ebola victim at the height of the infection can emit as much as 20 litres of fluid a day).

The nurses treating Duncan, for the first few days at least, just wore regular protection, i.e. a paper mask and gloves that covered only their hands, and were allowed to go and treat other patients right after treating Duncan.  Also, upon being readmitted (having originally been sent home to take Tylenol), Duncan was left out in the open for hours.  Now a 2nd nurse is infected and she took a commercial flight (presumably two, actually) after reporting suffering from a slight fever.

Yesterday, Dallas County's Judge Jenkins said that they expect more cases to come from this.  No shit.

I think you know that I am not someone who is prone to buy into the media's frantic fear-mongering.  They need to panic you with sound bites to get you to tune in to watch the commercials.  "Is there something in your home that's killing your kids right now?  Story at ten."  Ten?  Ten, motherfuckers?  Tell me now!  But this ebola thing has me properly spooked.  Not because we're all going to die an awful death from the virus but because, if we are all going to die an awful death, it's going to be from stupidity*.


* Politicians of all stripes are calling for the cancellation of all flights from West Africa to save us all from Ebola.  Meanwhile, things that might actually save us from Ebola, like approving funding the CDC and other emergency health organisations and maybe, finally, approving someone to be Surgeon General (a job that's been vacant for over a year) are stalled in Congress.  Right now those fuckers are figuring out how to pin this shit on each other, instead of figuring out how to fix this mess.  Awesome.

[Bench]

Get a flu shot and practice good hand hygiene. 

[GreatBagwellsBeard]

Presbyterian's going to get sued all the way to West Africa when this is over.  And probably sanctioned pretty severely by the CDC and JCAHO to boot.

Cool to see that Zuckerberg donated $25MM to the CDC yesterday.  They'll need it.

[HudsonHawk]

Texas Presbyterian does not have the facilities nor the qualified personnel to handle a Level IV biohazard.  Duncan should have never remained there

[HudsonHawk]

* Politicians of all stripes are calling for the cancellation of all flights from West Africa to save us all from Ebola.  Meanwhile, things that might actually save us from Ebola, like approving funding the CDC and other emergency health organisations and maybe, finally, approving someone to be Surgeon General (a job that's been vacant for over a year) are stalled in Congress.  Right now those fuckers are figuring out how to pin this shit on each other, instead of figuring out how to fix this mess.  Awesome.

They can't approve a Surgeon General...people might start masturbating again. 

[Limey]

Texas Presbyterian does not have the facilities nor the qualified personnel to handle a Level IV biohazard.  Duncan should have never remained there

This...is the main issue.  Nurse #2 has been transferred out to a specialist facility in Atlanta where they can handle this.  Nurse #1 remains a THP - probably the worst place for her, and us - presumably because she's now too deep into the infection to be moved.

If they'd been alert to flu-like symptoms in someone who has been in West Africa, as the CDC had told them to be, then Duncan gets quarantined immediately and then shipped out to Atlanta.  Nurse #1 should have been transferred as soon as she came in, but the THP dropped the ball on that one too.

These two nurses and any more subsequent infections are all on THP's management and senior staff for not paying attention.

[HudsonHawk]

This...is the main issue.  Nurse #2 has been transferred out to a specialist facility in Atlanta where they can handle this.  Nurse #1 remains a THP - probably the worst place for her, and us - presumably because she's now too deep into the infection to be moved.

If they'd been alert to flu-like symptoms in someone who has been in West Africa, as the CDC had told them to be, then Duncan gets quarantined immediately and then shipped out to Atlanta.  Nurse #1 should have been transferred as soon as she came in, but the THP dropped the ball on that one too.

These two nurses and any more subsequent infections are all on THP's management and senior staff for not paying attention.

Not to be an THP apologist...granted they dropped the ball on Duncan, but they're claiming they were taking their cues from the CDC, who's protocol keeps changing. 

[Limey]

Not to be an THP apologist...granted they dropped the ball on Duncan, but they're claiming they were taking their cues from the CDC, who's protocol keeps changing. 

Bosses say one thing...nurses there say another:  "We never talked about Ebola. We never had a discussion."

[Jacksonian]

Bosses say one thing...nurses there say another:  "We never talked about Ebola. We never had a discussion."

And nurse #2 said the CDC told her it was ok to fly with the slight fever.

The CDC has fucked up a lot of this.  Their boss is a disaster.

[HudsonHawk]

And nurse #2 said the CDC told her it was ok to fly with the slight fever.

The CDC has fucked up a lot of this.  Their boss is a disaster.

Nurse #2 should have known better.  You're a nurse who's been exposed to Ebola in the last week, and you're exhibiting symptoms.  How fucking stupid are you?

[Jacksonian]

Nurse #2 should have known better.  You're a nurse who's been exposed to Ebola in the last week, and you're exhibiting symptoms.  How fucking stupid are you?

No argument there either.  But if the CDC tells you you're good to go do you listen?  A rational person probably goes to a local hospital just be sure, but in that situation the expectation for rationality goes down.  That's why we have to mandate a quarantine rather than just expect people to do it themselves.  The CDC is supposed to offer the rationality that the potentially infected do not.

[drew corleone]

Two Belton kids were on the plane with the second nurse, so all of Central Texas is in a panic. After some back-and-forth the kids' parents agreed to quarantine them for 21 days, and they closed three schools in the district to clean/disinfect.

[HudsonHawk]

No argument there either.  But if the CDC tells you you're good to go do you listen?

No.  But then again, I'm not stupid.

[HudsonHawk]

Nurse #1 remains a THP - probably the worst place for her, and us - presumably because she's now too deep into the infection to be moved.

Nurse #1 being transferred to Bethesda, MD, one of the four hospitals actually equipped to deal with this type of thing. 

[OregonStrosFan]

Nurse #2 should have known better.  You're a nurse who's been exposed to Ebola in the last week, and you're exhibiting symptoms.  How fucking stupid are you?

Known better than to follow CDC instructions after proactively calling it to confirm you are acting per its recommendations? Okay...

[Dark Star]

I work in a hospital (purchasing and materials management) and I can tell you, niobody knows what the FUCK is going on.  There has been no official pronouncement, no employee meetings, nothing. While it is not likely an Ebola patient would end up in our care, it is possible.

If that happened, like, this week ... I don't even want to think about it.

[HudsonHawk]

Known better than to follow CDC instructions after proactively calling it to confirm you are acting per its recommendations? Okay...

Absolutely.

[Bench]

A rational person probably goes to a local hospital just be sure...

Going to a hospital in the first place is what got her into this mess.

[Ron Brand]

Going to a hospital in the first place is what got her into this mess.

Everyone knows hospitals are death factories.

[Limey]

So, that cruise ship that's quarantined off the coast of Belize...on of my co-workers is on that.

This shit is creeping ever closer (although I am assuming that this is an appropriate over-precaution and nothing will come of it).

[jbm]

I read that the person on the cruise ship just handled samples: a lab worker.  It's more like hysteria now, way past rational. 

[HudsonHawk]

I read that the person on the cruise ship just handled samples: a lab worker.  It's more like hysteria now, way past rational. 

Even in a lab, Ebola is a Level IV Biohazard, requiring very specific handling protocol.  There are only five labs in the US who are equipped to handle it safely, and this wasn't one of them.  I don't think it's hysteria to say "if you've been exposed to Ebola in the last few days, don't get in a closed, cramped environment with lots of other people for a while". 

[jbm]

I don't consider that to be "exposure" and I don't want to debate that.  Using this level of risk avoidance, society will have trouble recruiting people necessary to man the support systems, as everyone tom dick and sally remotely associated with the disease will be holed up in quarantine.  Then, the uneducated will demand that everyone they came into contact with be quarantined.  Society cannot function this way.     

[HudsonHawk]

I don't consider that to be "exposure" and I don't want to debate that.

Well it is, irrespective of what you consider.

[Limey]

I don't consider that to be "exposure" and I don't want to debate that.  Using this level of risk avoidance, society will have trouble recruiting people necessary to man the support systems, as everyone tom dick and sally remotely associated with the disease will be holed up in quarantine.  Then, the uneducated will demand that everyone they came into contact with be quarantined.  Society cannot function this way.    

This is only a short term issue.  I agree that such things are a massive over-reaction, as is my severe and sincere concern over an upcoming trip to Dallas.  But this is an incredibly scary disease and, for now, fear can be an important component of the effort to stem further infection.

Over-reaction, for now, could be preventing this tiny outbreak from becoming a bigger one.  In a month's time, when all those who may have been exposed have passed their incubation periods and are virus-free, then we can all calm down.  Until then, I am not setting my travel plans for Dallas, because if more cases start popping up, I'm not going.

[juliogotay]

This is only a short term issue.  I agree that such things are a massive over-reaction, as is my severe and sincere concern over an upcoming trip to Dallas.  But this is an incredibly scary disease and, for now, fear can be an important component of the effort to stem further infection.

Over-reaction, for now, could be preventing this tiny outbreak from becoming a bigger one.  In a month's time, when all those who may have been exposed have passed their incubation periods and are virus-free, then we can all calm down.  Until then, I am not setting my travel plans for Dallas, because if more cases start popping up, I'm not going.

In a month's time....it will be a lot worse situation than now.

[Bench]

This is only a short term issue.  I agree that such things are a massive over-reaction, as is my severe and sincere concern over an upcoming trip to Dallas.  But this is an incredibly scary disease and, for now, fear can be an important component of the effort to stem further infection.

Over-reaction, for now, could be preventing this tiny outbreak from becoming a bigger one.  In a month's time, when all those who may have been exposed have passed their incubation periods and are virus-free, then we can all calm down.  Until then, I am not setting my travel plans for Dallas, because if more cases start popping up, I'm not going.

You know, there are a lot of less extreme reasons to avoid Dallas.

[MusicMan]

  The CDC is supposed to offer the rationality that the potentially infected do not.

There's nothing for Big Pharma to sell here, so the CDC is utterly confused as to their marching orders.

[Nate in IA]

There is a game out there called Pandemic.  It's what's known as a 'cooperative' game where the players can collude to try to beat the game.   The fundamental premise is that there are 4 pandemics loose on the world and it's up to your team to keep the human population alive.   It's an interesting game that may be played out in real-time shortly.  We'll see.

[Fredia]

for once texas does not want or need to be number 1 but it seems to have fallen on us.

[Limey]

In a month's time....it will be a lot worse situation than now.

Possibly.  But at least we'll know.

You know, there are a lot of less extreme reasons to avoid Dallas.

I feel queasy going there normally. 

[drew corleone]

There is a game out there called Pandemic.  It's what's known as a 'cooperative' game where the players can collude to try to beat the game.   The fundamental premise is that there are 4 pandemics loose on the world and it's up to your team to keep the human population alive.   It's an interesting game that may be played out in real-time shortly.  We'll see.

The iOS game Plague is similar.

[NeilT]

There's nothing for Big Pharma to sell here, so the CDC is utterly confused as to their marching orders.

It took me a while to figure this out.  I thought "Big Pharma" was a nickname for Barry Bonds.

[Fredia]

not to worry there will be profit

[Ty in Tampa]

I thought "Big Pharma" was a nickname for Barry Bonds.

I thought it was that Amish rapper.

[subnuclear]

There's nothing for Big Pharma to sell here, so the CDC is utterly confused as to their marching orders.

The DoD has invested probably a billion dollars in bio-defense since 9/11 which include countermeasures against stuff like Ebola, so there is more than one pot of money involved here.

[juliogotay]

The DoD has invested probably a billion dollars in bio-defense since 9/11 which include countermeasures against stuff like Ebola, so there is more than one pot of money involved here.

I bet the DoD is urging the administration to restrict travel between the U.S. and western Africa.

[Dark Star]

From what I have heard, any/all Ebola cases in the area? The region? Not sure, but anyway, they are all supposed to be routed to UTMB.

This sucks. I'd find it much easier to avoid Dallas, than Galveston.

[Bench]

From what I have heard, any/all Ebola cases in the area? The region? Not sure, but anyway, they are all supposed to be routed to UTMB.

This sucks. I'd find it much easier to avoid Dallas, than Galveston.

In unrelated news, Forbes has declared Beaumont to be the least educated city in America (Ann Arbor, Raleigh and Durham, NC and Provo, UT being the "most educated"):

At the other end of the spectrum, Beaumont, Texas, ranks as the least educated city in America, with one of the lowest percentages of bachelor’s degree holders as well as graduate or professional degree holders, and one of the lowest numbers of doctors per capita.

This certainly does not comport with my experience on the beautiful mountain, especially given the comparisons to Brownsville and McAllen which also fell in the top 10.  You would think a regionally well respected university with one of the top area nursing schools would alone carry the weight. 

[HudsonHawk]

This certainly does not comport with my experience on the beautiful mountain, especially given the comparisons to Brownsville and McAllen which also fell in the top 10.  You would think a regionally well respected university with one of the top area nursing schools would alone carry the weight. 

Not to mention that Durham is a shithole. 

[Duman]

In unrelated news, Forbes has declared Beaumont to be the least educated city (of the top 150 metro areas)  in America (Ann Arbor, Raleigh and Durham, NC and Provo, UT being the "most educated"):

At the other end of the spectrum, Beaumont, Texas, ranks as the least educated city in America, with one of the lowest percentages of bachelor’s degree holders as well as graduate or professional degree holders, and one of the lowest numbers of doctors per capita.

This certainly does not comport with my experience on the beautiful mountain, especially given the comparisons to Brownsville and McAllen which also fell in the top 10.  You would think a regionally well respected university with one of the top area nursing schools would alone carry the weight. 

FIFY - it doesn't mean anything out side of how they rank among the 150 largest metro areas. 

[subnuclear]

That list seems to be 'Do you live in a smallish town that has a huge university medical center in it?'

[Dark Star]

In unrelated news, Forbes has declared Beaumont to be the least educated city in America (Ann Arbor, Raleigh and Durham, NC and Provo, UT being the "most educated"):

At the other end of the spectrum, Beaumont, Texas, ranks as the least educated city in America, with one of the lowest percentages of bachelor’s degree holders as well as graduate or professional degree holders, and one of the lowest numbers of doctors per capita.

This certainly does not comport with my experience on the beautiful mountain, especially given the comparisons to Brownsville and McAllen which also fell in the top 10.  You would think a regionally well respected university with one of the top area nursing schools would alone carry the weight.  

I cannot/will not deny the ranking.  There are easily as many (if not more) stooopid motherfuckers around here as anywhere else I have ever been, I am pretty sure.  And it gets even better (worse?) as you drift eastward. If you get my drift.

I think the area ranks really high in violent crime statistics, as well.  So, yeah, we are dumb; but at least we are violent, too.

Also, the scenery sucks, and it is hot (and humid) as hell most of the time.

I wonder if the survey took into account all the people who got their two-year process operator associate degrees from LIT after high school, then went directly to work for Exxon/Mobil or any of the other refineries in the area, starting at $70,000 to $80,000 a year … while meanwhile, all their smarter peers were working at the student center or Burger King part-time, in pursuit of their Liberal Arts degrees? Of course, working in a refinery for good money doesn't preclude one from stupid MF status - there is plenty of evidence extant for that ... but are you really stupid, if you figure out a quick way to get a huge jump on your more 'educated' peers on the salary/career ladder?  Hard for me to say, but I don't know too many plant operators who would lose any sleep over it.

Anyway, the intelligence ranking dropped dramatically when you moved away, Bench. So, thanks a lot, you prick.

If anyone wants to witness a particular brand of stupid, just come by my neighborhood pretty much any Thursday-Friday-Saturday evening after about 6:00 p.m. or so. By that time, many of us have been sitting around each other's front- or backyards, slamming down alcoholic beverages of various types and strengths, for several hours. While talking about doing some really stupid shit.

That's when the real fun starts.

[HudsonHawk]

If anyone wants to witness a particular brand of stupid, just come by my neighborhood pretty much any Thursday-Friday-Saturday evening after about 6:00 p.m. or so. By that time, many of us have been sitting around each other's front- or backyards, slamming down alcoholic beverages of various types and strengths, for several hours. While talking about doing some really stupid shit.

That's when the real fun starts.

You're a regular Hank Hill. 

[GreatBagwellsBeard]

In unrelated news, Forbes has declared Beaumont to be the least educated city in America (Ann Arbor, Raleigh and Durham, NC and Provo, UT being the "most educated"):

At the other end of the spectrum, Beaumont, Texas, ranks as the least educated city in America, with one of the lowest percentages of bachelor’s degree holders as well as graduate or professional degree holders, and one of the lowest numbers of doctors per capita.

This certainly does not comport with my experience on the beautiful mountain, especially given the comparisons to Brownsville and McAllen which also fell in the top 10.  You would think a regionally well respected university with one of the top area nursing schools would alone carry the weight. 

As they said on Weekend Update, wait until they don't read about this.

[Limey]

While the new ebola case in NYC is grabbing the headlines, Nina Pham, the first of the nurses who treated Duncan to come down with it, has been declared ebola-free and was released from the NIH today.  She looks pretty damn healthy, to be honest.  What a great news story on this day of otherwise pretty shitty news stories.

FWIW, she was given what Duncan was not, which was a transfusion of plasma from a previous ebola survivor, which would have been chock full o' ebola antibodies.  Like every other virus, the only "cure" is to let the body's immune system make antibodies to bond with the virus and neutralise it.  The problem is that ebola is such a vicious little bastard that the victim often dies before the immune system can react - usually from dehydration - so the antibody reinforcements from the transfusion greatly speed up the process of neutralising it.  The survival rate without a transfusion is a shade under 50%; with the transfusion, it's pretty close to 100%.