Why I'll risk my life for Ebola patients

[tetano]

Hundreds of foreign aid workers are in West Africa treating people with Ebola. One of them is Cokie van der Velde who has just flown from the UK to Liberia. She explains why she has left the safety of her home to face the deadly virus.

I was first in Liberia five weeks ago and I believe the situation is now much worse. Back then, our treatment centres had already run out of room and we were starting to put people in corridors.

In the centre, people groan and cry out - the smell of blood, diarrhoea and vomit is awful - unfortunately there is also a very pervading smell of dead bodies.

I can only leave it to your imagination to understand what a pile of bodies smells like after a week in very hot, moist surroundings - it makes you feel sick quite a lot of the time.

...

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-29245149

 

[Ray]

Re: Ebola response

Re: Ebola response

I know two people who have completed USAID online volunteer forms. One is not licensed HCW but has some relevant experience, other is RN. Neither has had response.

Are NGO's/US agencies leery of sending in response teams until security can be improved given recent incidents or exposures? Have other countries sent teams of HCW's into the affected countries? Does anyone here know anyone who has submitted volunteer application and been "called up" recently?

MSF calling for turning stadiums into "secure areas that infected cannot escape from" to stop spread.(Added link. I think I read about this last week when FIFA agreed to let an affected nation use their stadiums?)

http://www.cfr.org/public-health-threats-and-pandemics/epic-failures-feeding-ebola-crisis/p33465

 

[AnnaLisa]

Re: Why I'll risk my life for Ebola patients

Given the recent issues, perhaps they are waiting for the military to get care centers set up and secured?

 

[Emily]

Re: Ebola response

Re: Ebola response

I know two people who have completed USAID online volunteer forms. One is not licensed HCW but has some relevant experience, other is RN. Neither has had response.

Are NGO's/US agencies leery of sending in response teams until security can be improved given recent incidents or exposures? Have other countries sent teams of HCW's into the affected countries? Does anyone here know anyone who has submitted volunteer application and been "called up" recently?

MSF today calling for turning stadiums into areas for infected to reduce exposure and enforcing compliance with quarantines.

Are you sure that MSF was calling for using stadiums like that? That seems a contradiction to what is reported here:

http://www.wdam.com/story/26582907/7000-volunteers-visiting-sierra-leone-citizens-during-lockdown-to-slow-ebola

7,000 volunteers visiting Sierra Leone citizens during lockdown to slow Ebola
Posted: Sep 20, 2014 1:28 AM PST Updated: Sep 20, 2014 1:31 AM PST
...
But aid agency Médecins Sans Frontières, also known as Doctors Without Borders, said the lockdown is unlikely to stop the spread of the disease.

"Forced quarantines and lockdowns are driving people underground and jeopardizing the trust between people and health providers," the charity group said in a statement this month. "This is leading to the concealment of cases and is pushing the sick away from health systems."...

Also there seems to be ample local volunteers in Sierra Leone. I wouldn't assume security problems are the reason applicants aren't getting responses.

If anyone thinks turning stadiums into holding pens for humans is a good idea, refresh your memory:

http://seattletimes.com/html/hurricanekatrina/2002463400_katrinasuperdome01.html

It should be a last resort and hopefully not one needed for ebola control.

 

[Ray]

Re: response

Re: response

Added links to above post.

 

[Emily]

Re: Why I'll risk my life for Ebola patients

Thank you, Ray! Here's an actual statement from MSF's website - if it differs from what reporters are saying they say in the media, I'd believe the organization's original source, unless there is some sort of whistle blowing going on in a particular article.

http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/news-stories/field-news/ebola-msf-presentation-un-security-council

I don't see anything there about them wanting to do more than isolate and treat patients. There is no talk of football stadiums specifically or concerns about escape.

I did read about the FIFA offer to use that stadium in Liberia.

http://www.liberiansoccer.com/Liberia_football_ground_converted_into_Ebola0988776655443322121.htm

That is the UN and WHO involved in that, so maybe someone in the article you found got them mixed up with MSF. At any rate, so far the intent seems to be set up treatment centers in the stadium.