Ebola's Biggest Benefactor Is Human Error

[Gemineye]

Newmax
Wednesday, 08 Oct 2014 01:01 PM
By Chris Freind

Mindboggling. Astounding. Incomprehensible. All describe the mistakes and idiotic actions of government officials and healthcare professionals dealing with the Ebola virus.

But here?s the most important descriptor: expected. Since we are willfully letting Ebola in, how could we not expect unintended consequences?


http://nws.mx/1xpvleY

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A rather harsh article but I agree with the general premise.

 

[Dani]

Re: Ebola's Biggest Benefactor Is Human Error

It is harsh, but I can't really argue with anything except I do feel that sick Americans & Europeans should be repatriated to a level-4 treatment unit, the risk of spread from there is so very, very low. And if we don't treat them, HCWs will not serve in West Africa, and it will be a worse disaster than it already is.

Murphy's Law applies to the management of Ebola epidemics, too. As the days go by I find myself wondering why the CDC and other authorities will take the risk of unhindered travel. I'm not sure if it's hubris or just a misunderstanding of how things work "in the trenches", so to speak. There's been so little practical application of epidemic management in the US in recent memory that I think they are just out of touch in many ways. Yes, we have the tools, but what works in theory may not work in practice. It's those pesky "unknown unknowns".

If there's even one primary contact who falls ill in the US, the Powers That Be will have hell to pay- just like what's happening in Spain right now. It will be very interesting to see what happens if Mr. Duncan's family become ill.