I believe the public is being given false assurances
about the danger of the spread of Ebola in Dallas
The Dallas hospital, the judge, the mayor, the Texas
governor and the CDC all tell us that there is no need to worry about Ebola spreading
to the general population.
Of course,
the hospital doesn't want multiple law suits, the judge and mayor don’t wish
to see their city in panic, Governor Perry doesn't have a clue and the CDC
would like to keep a cap on all information.
In another life I worked as an EMT for two years at Alert
Ambulance in Lewiston, Maine. Because
the local hospital was shorthanded, and to get experience, our EMTs often
volunteered at the emergency room.
Lewiston is a relatively small city compared to Dallas. Our emergency room normally had from twenty
to fifty people waiting treatment. Kids with runny noses; vagrants wishing just
to get off the street; people with cuts, broken bones and those actually sick
sat in hardback chairs in the waiting room waiting their turn for triage and
treatment.
I am sure that the emergency room at the Dallas hospital
serves a much larger population than the emergency room in Lewiston. (Because
Governor Perry turning down the Medicaid reimbursement money from the federal
government many Texans still must seek treatment from hospital emergency rooms.)
Now, let’s consider a series of questions concerning Mr.
Duncan’s public exposure after developing contagious Ebola.
· What
family members were exposed to Mr. Duncan after he developed a fever?
· Family
members did not have a car, so was Mr. Duncan first trip to the hospital via
public transportation or taxi? Did he
exchange money?
· At
the emergency room Mr. Duncan had to sign in and fill out a medical history which
is usually attached to a clip board with a communal pen. How many other patients handled that
clipboard and pen?
· Mr.
Duncan sat in a chair in the waiting room and possibly drank from a water
fountain. Who sat next to him and who
occupied the chair after Mr. Duncan was being seen?
· The
triage nurse took Mr. Duncan’s temperature and blood pressure before he was
seen by a doctor or physician’s assistant.
Did he or she check Mr. Duncan’s throat using a wooden paddle; and did
he/she wear gloves? How many people
were later seen by that triage nurse and doctor, and checked with the same
equipment?
· How
did Mr. Duncan return home?
· While
infectious, did Mr. Duncan eat at restaurants or fast food eateries? If so, did money exchange hands and was
silverware or drinking cups involved?
· While
at home did Mr. Duncan kiss or have sex with his fiancé; share food with his
family or hold the children?
· Did
Mr. Duncan interact with any of the neighbors?
· When
the ambulance crew came did they perform a stick (insert an IV – often a normal
procedure?) What other interactions did the EMTs have with
Mr. Duncan? How many other people were
served by that ambulance and that crew on that day?
· At
the hospital admission – before he had been diagnosed with Ebola – how many
nurses, patients and doctors had contact with Mr. Duncan?
· When
blood and urine was drawn was the hospital lab alerted that they were dealing
with possible infectious Ebola fluids?
How many hundreds of people
may have had contact with this infectious Ebola victim, and returned to their
families and work environment, or traveled to other communities, unknowingly
carrying the deadly time bomb of Ebola?
Only time will tell us.
I believe these are answer
the public has a right to know. Being
told not to worry because protocols were, and are being followed is an attempt,
for whatever reason, to dumb down the actual danger posed by the outbreak of this disease.
the Ol’Buzzard
