Dr. Ada Igonoh's Ebola Survival Story - She was infected by Sawyer

[hawkeye]

An incredible story. It's long, but definitely worth the read. I've quoted parts I found interesting/informative below.

After all, my contact with Sawyer was minimal. I only touched his I.V. fluid bag just that once without gloves. The only time I actually touched him was when I checked his pulse and confirmed him dead, and I wore double gloves and felt adequately protected.

“I have to inform you that your blood tested positive for Ebola. I am sorry.” I had no reaction. I think I must have been in shock. He then told me to open my mouth and he looked at my tongue. He said it was the typical Ebola tongue. I took out my mirror from my bag and took a look and I was shocked at what I saw. My whole tongue had a white coating, looked furry and had a long, deep ridge right in the middle.

He said I had to drink at least 4.5 litres of ORS daily to replace fluids lost in stooling and vomiting. I told him I had stooled three times earlier and taken Imodium tablets to stop the stooling. He said it was not advisable, as the virus would replicate the more inside of me. It was better he said to let it out. He said good night and left.

The next day Monday 4th of August, I began to notice red rashes on my skin particularly on my arms. I had developed sores all over my mouth. My head was pounding so badly. The sore throat was so severe I could not eat. I could only drink the ORS. I took paracetamol for the pain.

patients who succumb to the disease usually die between 6 to 16 days after the onset of the disease from multiple organ failure and shock caused by dehydration.

Five days after I was admitted, the vomiting stopped. A day after that, the diarrhea ceased. I was overwhelmed with joy.

I came across a tweet by W.H.O saying that the sweat of an Ebola patient cannot transmit the virus at the early stage of the infection. The sweat could only transmit it at the late stage.

I was free to go home after being in isolation for exactly 14 days.

http://www.bellanaija.com/2014/09/1...-ada-igonoh-survived-ebola-this-is-her-story/

 

[hawkeye]

Re: Dr. Ada Igonoh's Ebola Survival Story - She was infected by Sawyer

Because of the last quote above it seems possible that Mr. Duncan could have been infected by Ms. Williams' sweat (as she was in the late stage of the illness) while at the same time it's possible that those in his apartment might avoid infection through that same vector (according to the WHO Tweet referenced) - assuming he was in the early stage.

 

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: Dr. Ada Igonoh's Ebola Survival Story - She was infected by Sawyer

So we can add frequent showers to the TO DO list for avoiding ebola? Or would that remove too much of the skin's natural covering of good bacteria, or make it dry, rough, and cracked?

.

 

[Sharky]

Re: Dr. Ada Igonoh's Ebola Survival Story - She was infected by Sawyer

After all, my contact with Sawyer was minimal. I only touched his I.V. fluid bag just that once without gloves. The only time I actually touched him was when I checked his pulse and confirmed him dead, and I wore double gloves and felt adequately protected.

Well, that and being in a room that was probably full of Ebola-filled droplets.

 

[Drakkonmax]

Re: Dr. Ada Igonoh's Ebola Survival Story - She was infected by Sawyer

Yes Sharky, I believe that as we see this thing get loose in a 1st world country many of the misconceptions as to how easily ebola can transmit will begin to crumble under the weight of practical unbiased observation.

 

[Graupel]

Re: Dr. Ada Igonoh's Ebola Survival Story - She was infected by Sawyer

It's amazing how many stories are coming out from (+) cases where there were no obvious hi-risk exposures. In general epi studies, people have biases the other way where they scrutinize all possible choices to figure out where they made a mistake. I really wonder what this means for the folks in Dallas, let alone anyone who passed through the ER....

 

[JJackson]

Re: Dr. Ada Igonoh's Ebola Survival Story - She was infected by Sawyer

Yes Sharky, I believe that as we see this thing get loose in a 1st world country many of the misconceptions as to how easily ebola can transmit will begin to crumble under the weight of practical unbiased observation.

I think you are right. I suspect we will learn a lot from this and similar introductions to come. The massive effort applied to a single case in terms of the patients treatment, detailed contact tracing and history of contacts is going very informative.
Having the ability to monitor a patients blood chemistry in near real time while treatments are applied and adjusted. Being very confident about exactly who had what level of contact at what time.
This kind of data would have been hard to come by in a closely interacting village setting but if the only contact you had was taking a temperature while wearing gloves in admissions or cleaning an apartment two days after it was vacated it will not be possible to put it down to unknown or community contact.

 

[Redcass]

Re: Dr. Ada Igonoh's Ebola Survival Story - She was infected by Sawyer

The thing that puzzles me, though, is that with the apparent ease of transmission in some cases suggesting either droplet or fomite spread, why weren't there many more infected by Sawyer and Dr. Enemuo? The latter treated patients (significant amounts if my memory serves correct) while symptomatic. There must be a reason why some seem to contract it much more easily, or it's just sheer luck?

 

[Graupel]

Re: Dr. Ada Igonoh's Ebola Survival Story - She was infected by Sawyer

There must be a reason why some seem to contract it much more easily, or it's just sheer luck?

For essentially all infectious diseases, there's an element of personal susceptibility, based on which receptors you have where, quirky things about your immunology, and lots more that no-one really has a handle on. "The only normal patient is one who hasn't been examined sufficiently."

The flip side is super-shedders, who shed huge amounts of virus yet aren't overly ill. Let's just hope that that is very, very rare here....

 

[Emily]

Re: Dr. Ada Igonoh's Ebola Survival Story - She was infected by Sawyer

This is a riveting narrative, hawkeye! It is well-written and inspiring. Clearly Dr. Igonoh is a strong & wise woman. Determination to be positive runs through the narrative.

I still believe in miracles. None of us in the isolation ward was given any experimental drugs or so-called immune boosters. I was full of faith yet pragmatic enough to consume as much ORS as I could even when I wanted to give up and throw the bottles away. I researched on the disease extensively and read accounts of the survivors. I believed that even if the mortality rate was 99%, I would be part of the 1% who survive...

 

[hawkeye]

Re: Dr. Ada Igonoh's Ebola Survival Story - She was infected by Sawyer

This is a riveting narrative, hawkeye! It is well-written and inspiring. Clearly Dr. Igonoh is a strong & wise woman. Determination to be positive runs through the narrative.

Agreed. Her will to survive is inspiring. I also think it was key that she listed to the person who was helping her and followed their lead based on their experiences in the field.

 

[JimO]

Re: Dr. Ada Igonoh's Ebola Survival Story - She was infected by Sawyer

For essentially all infectious diseases, there's an element of personal susceptibility, based on which receptors you have where, quirky things about your immunology, and lots more that no-one really has a handle on. "The only normal patient is one who hasn't been examined sufficiently."

The flip side is super-shedders, who shed huge amounts of virus yet aren't overly ill. Let's just hope that that is very, very rare here....

We keep coming across stories of people who were infected and who did not appear to have a high-risk exposure. They are definitely in the minority, but it does seem that some cases defy the "ebola is only spread through direct contact with bodily fluids" narrative. The idea of super-shedders makes sense. And I agree, I hope they are very rare indeed.

 

[curiosity]

Re: Dr. Ada Igonoh's Ebola Survival Story - She was infected by Sawyer

IMO the contact with the IV Bag before he was diagnosed would be sufficient for transmission and not outside the low risk contact potential. Assume he was handling the bag - going back and forth to the restroom carrying his IV Bag - she picks it up, no gloves because no ID concerns at this point, leaves the room and rubs her eyes or eats something using her hands before she washes them with soap and water. Vvirus introduction and illness follow ... Maybe their system relies on alcohol hand sanitizers - known for being less effective against Ebola - with less emphasis on soap and water.

 

[curiosity]

Re: Dr. Ada Igonoh's Ebola Survival Story - She was infected by Sawyer

The account is exceptional. Many points to learn from.