Ebola is in New York City

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A doctor in New York City who recently returned from treating Ebola patients in Guinea tested positive for the Ebola virus Thursday, becoming the city’s first diagnosed case.

The doctor, Craig Spencer, was rushed to Bellevue Hospital Center on Thursday and placed in isolation while health care workers spread out across the city to trace anyone he might have come into contact with in recent days. A further test will be conducted by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to confirm the initial test.

While officials have said they expected isolated cases of the disease to arrive in New York eventually, and had been preparing for this moment for months, the first case highlighted the challenges surrounding containment of the virus, especially in a crowded metropolis.

Even as the authorities worked to confirm that Mr. Spencer was infected with Ebola, it emerged that he traveled from Manhattan to Brooklyn on the subway on Wednesday night, when he went to a bowling alley, and then took a taxi home.

More at the NY Times

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Congratulations New York City!

You wanted to be citizens of the world and thought it was RACIST and UNFAIR to have a travel ban.

Well now you can reap what you have sown.

You voted for the incompetent Democratic party.

You unseriously voted thinking it was for free condoms and for affirmative action and now you have the results of those thoroughly Stupid decisions.

Have fun with that!

Sundance, at the Conservative Treehouse makes an interesting comparison:

The generally accepted belief (also by Liberian authority) is that Duncan knew of his exposure when he left Liberia. He came to the U.S. just-in-case.
Thomas Duncan:

Exposed 9/15/14 [Aiding Pregnant friend]

(four days later) Flight 9/19 => 9/20/14 arrival

(five days later) Symptoms 9/24/14

(two days later)
Hospital 9/25/14

Dr. Craig Spencer:

Last work day [Dr’s without Borders] 10/12/14

(four days later) Flight 10/16 => 10/17/14 arrival

(five days later) Symptoms 10/21/14

(two days later) Hospital 10/23/14

Did this doctor make a boo boo and do exactly what Mr. Duncan did? Coming to the USA for care….just-in-case?

@Nanny G: Doctors Without Borders. How many of these doctors have died? Therefore no doctors and no borders. It seems to be trending that way, at least.

Best serious essay about ebola, translated from Russian By Oleg Atbashian at the People’s Cube:
‘Ebola in America’ and other fake problems our leaders love to fight.
By Yulia Latynina

Originally published in Russian in Novaya Gazeta, Sept. 27, 2014

@Nicolette Barjavel, #1:

New York City has a population of a bit over 8.4 million. Of that 8.4 million, 1 has contracted ebola: a doctor who was in close contact with ebola patients he was treating in Africa. The response to that single case has been entirely appropriate.

Get some perspective. The CDC and our public health infrastructure actually do have a function, and perform it well.

There are an average of 7 cases of bubonic plague in the United States every year. I presume you know something about the history of the bubonic plague. Despite the fact that it once killed around 1/2 of the entire population of Europe, nobody gets hysterical. It doesn’t run through the population like a wildfire. Most often, it never even makes the news. Like ebola, the modes of transmission are understood well enough to prevent isolated occurrences from becoming epidemics. If you want to worry about pandemics there are far more likely candidates than ebola. The CDC knows perfectly well what they are. So does any intelligent layman who bothers to pay some small attention to such things.

I don’t much care for efforts to politicize a disease and exploit it by promoting irrational fear. I really dislike the vindictive note that sometimes accompanies such fear mongering. It’s getting so that it no longer surprises me, however.

Want to keep an eye on global disease outbreaks? Here’s a Global Incident Map with enough regularly updated information to make anyone paranoid. The main and most worrisome thing going on in the U.S. at the moment is the D68 enterovirus outbreak.

@Greg: The CDC and our public health infrastructure actually do have a function, and perform it well.

It is true the CDC has refined its protocols so ebola is not spread inside hospitals.
But what is the cost of curing an ebola-infected person?
Mr. Duncan’s apartment cost over $100,000 just to clean.
The airplanes that a nurse rode in were also cleaned at least seven times, including re-upholstery.
That price tag is unknown.
Medical personnel were calling in sick in droves to Belleview rather than come in on their assigned shifts and risk getting ebola.
That’s another hidden cost.
The REAL difference between TREATING ebola here and in West Africa is the availability of clean hydration.
IF water, saline and glucose were all in plentiful supply in West Africa many more would survive.
The REAL difference between GETTING ebola here and in West Africa is in the traditions for burials among Muslims that facilitates the spread of the disease.
Look around the world at Islam.
Is there ANY place where Muslims are leaving all their 7th century habits behind?
No.
They move into Europe and North America and demand exemptions so they can continue their primitive and filthy cultural habits, such as these burial habits.
And what is our response?
Let them do whatever they want.
Whether it is slaughtering animals by throat slitting in their backyards or washing their dead then sharing a common bowl to wash themselves, we let them have an exemption.
I’m glad our military is only in Liberia with its 12% Muslim population (similar to France’s) as opposed to the 82% Muslims in Sierra Leone or the 95% Muslims in Guinea.
We do have half a chance against ebola being a huge problem here.
And we also have better chances to survive it here.
But look at the numbers, the costs.
How many cases can we afford to spend like that on?
Will people with disabilities be written off?
Older people?
Diabetics?
This is a million dollar disease.
Are we all covered?