How Ebola Is Spread From Human to
Human
Ryan Wallace Aug 1, 2014
Photo by AP Images
Yahoo News is reporting that two Americans
infected with Ebola will be treated in the United
States, marking the first time the deadly virus has been
treated within U.S.
borders.
The evacuations of Dr. Kent Brantly and
missionary Nancy Writebol are being facilitated by the State Department and the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Emory University in Atlanta announced at a
press conference on Friday that it will be treating two patients with the Ebola
virus.
As of this week, Ebola virus disease (EVD)
has killed more than 700 people, according to the World Health
Organization. There is no cure and no vaccine for EVD, which kills
between 60 and 90 percent of its victims. The current outbreak — the largest in
history — originated in Liberia
and has spread to neighboring countries, but it has been contained thus far to West Africa.
The news that people infected with disease
will be treated here in the U.S.
sparked quite a reaction on social media, inspiring even a certain celebrity
billionaire to take to Twitter in protest:
CDC director Thomas
Frieden, M.D., called Ebola “a dreadful, merciless virus” on a press
call on Thursday, so it’s understandable that Americans would be concerned. But
the chance that someone in the general population will contract Ebola is still
extremely small.
"This is a very low-risk situation
for the general U.S.
population," Diane Griffin, M.D., professor and chair in molecular
microbiology and immunology at Johns Hopkins University,
told Yahoo Health. "Emory is a great place for [the patient] to go. They
are set up well to handle this type of situation."
Ebola is not spread like the cold or the
flu, she added. You could be sitting next to someone who is infected and still
not contract the virus. “It’s transmitted by very close contact with people who
are sick or with their bodily secretions, such as blood, urine, and feces,”
said Griffin.
“It isn’t spread through the air like most other viruses. It’s usually
contracted by people who are taking care of a sick person – either a health
care worker in a medical setting or by someone taking care of a sick family
member at home.”
Additionally, the infected patient(s) will
be treated in what sounds like the Fort
Knox of treatment
centers. “Emory University Hospital
has a specially built isolation unit set up in collaboration with the CDC to
treat patients who are exposed to certain serious infectious diseases,” the
hospital said in a statement. “It is physically separate from other patient
areas and has unique equipment and infrastructure that provide an
extraordinarily high level of clinical isolation. It is one of only four such
facilities in the country.”
The hospital says its staff is well
equipped to handle the incoming patients safely. “Emory University
Hospital physicians,
nurses and staff are highly trained in the specific and unique protocols and
procedures necessary to treat and care for this type of patient,” the statement
continued. “For this specially trained staff, these procedures are practiced on
a regular basis throughout the year so we are fully prepared for this type of
situation.”
Why Isn’t There an Ebola Vaccine?
According to a Newsweek piece published on
Friday, Brantley, the American doctor who was infected with Ebola while
treating patients in Liberia,
received a blood transfusion this week from a 14-year-old boy who recovered
from the disease. Though this procedure has been around for 20 years, its
effectiveness against Ebola remains largely unknown.
"This treatment has worked in cases
of other hemorrhagic fevers similar to Ebola, because the blood is likely to
have antibodies against virus," said Griffin.
"There is good data for other similar illnesses that shows you can treat
people in this way and improve their chances of recovery. I don’t know of any
evidence that it has worked for Ebola, but I’m sure they were pretty desperate,
so it’s certainly worth trying."
The National Institutes of
Health announced on Thursday that it will be begin human tests for
an Ebola vaccine. Both the size and the high-profile nature of the current
outbreak have many people wondering why it has taken this long. The main
reasons, according to Griffin,
are that outbreaks are pretty infrequent and there hasn’t been enough pressure
globally to pursue a vaccine. “Even though the past outbreaks in Africa have been tragic, they were quickly contained and
large numbers of people have not been at risk, she said. “Developing vaccines
is a very expensive process, and there just hasn’t been the driving forces
needed to move it beyond the animal testing phase.”
There are several experimental vaccines
that have been developed that work in animals, and a few of them have been
shown to work in monkeys, said Griffin.
“It’s a tricky situation,” she continued. “There is great reluctance to use an
experimental vaccine even in desperate times. Not all vaccines are safe, and if
it turns out the experimental vaccine does more harm than good, it would be a
public health disaster.”
World Health Organization
Jim Yong
Kim was a director, HIV-AIDS department for the World Health
Organization, and a guest at George Soros’s 2013 wedding.
Note: George
Soros was married in 2013, the
chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society,
a benefactor for the Harlem Children's Zone,
is an advisory board member for the Earth Institute,
and a director emeritus at Refugees International.
Foundation
to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Harlem
Children's Zone, the Refugees International,
and the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Harold
Varmus was an advisory board member for the Earth
Institute, and a director at the National
Institutes of Health.
Michael
R. Bloomberg was a benefactor for the Harlem Children's Zone,
the New York (NY) mayor, a donor at the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation, and is the founder of the Bloomberg Family Foundation.
Bloomberg
Family Foundation was a funder for the World Health Organization,
and the CDC Foundation.
John G. Rice
is a board member for the CDC Foundation,
and a trustee at Emory University.
Charles
H. McTier is a board member for the CDC Foundation,
and was a trustee at Emory University.
CDC
Foundation is a foundation for the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC).
William
H. Foege was a director at the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC), and is a professor at Emory University.
Jeffrey
P. Koplan was a director at the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC), and is a VP at Emory University.
Muhtar Kent
is a trustee at Emory University,
and a trustee at the Center for Strategic and
International Studies (think tank).
Andreas
C. Dracopoulos is a trustee at the Center for Strategic and
International Studies (think tank), and a trustee at Johns Hopkins University.
David
M. Rubenstein was a trustee at the Center for Strategic and
International Studies (think tank), a trustee at Johns Hopkins University, is the president of the Economic Club of Washington, and a co-chairman for the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Richard
E. Besser was the acting director, director of terrorism preparedness &
emergency response for the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC), an investigator for the Epidemic Intelligence Service, and is the chief medical
editor for the ABC News.
Epidemic
Intelligence Service is a division of the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Mellody
L. Hobson is a contributor for the ABC News, and a
member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Bill
& Melinda Gates Foundation is a grantor, for 2010-2011 health project
for the ABC News, was a funder for the World Health Organization, and a funder for the Earth Institute.
Harold
Varmus was an advisory board member for the Earth
Institute, and a director at the National
Institutes of Health.
Ezekiel
Emanuel was a founding chair of the Department of Bioethics for the National Institutes of Health, the health care policy
adviser for the Barack Obama administration, and
his brother is Rahm I. Emanuel.
Rahm I.
Emanuel is Ezekiel Emanuel’s brother, a
member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, the Chicago (IL) mayor, and was the White House chief of staff
for the Barack Obama administration.
Rahm Emanuel "Never Let A
Good Crisis Go To Waste"
Newton N.
Minow is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago,
and a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.
R. Eden
Martin is the president of the Commercial Club of Chicago,
and counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.
Michelle
Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.
Barack Obama
was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP, and is the
president for the Barack Obama
administration.
Thomas
R. Frieden is the director at the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) for the Barack Obama
administration, and was the commissioner for the New York City Health Department.
CDC
Foundation is a foundation for the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC).
Betty E.
King is a director at the CDC Foundation,
and was a director at the Refugees International.
Vernon E. Jordan Jr. was the
president of the Economic Club of Washington, is an
honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution
(think tank), Valerie B. Jarrett’s
great uncle, a director at the American Friends of Bilderberg (think tank), and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).
Bill
& Melinda Gates Foundation was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank), a
funder for the World Health Organization, and the
Acumen Fund.
Jim Yong
Kim was a director, HIV-AIDS department for the World Health
Organization, and a guest at George Soros’s 2013 wedding.
Cyrus
F. Freidheim Jr. is an honorary trustee at the Brookings
Institution (think tank), and a member of the Commercial
Club of Chicago.
Valerie
B. Jarrett is Vernon E. Jordan Jr’s great niece, the senior adviser for the Barack Obama administration, and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
R. Eden
Martin is the president of the Commercial Club of Chicago,
and counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.
Michelle
Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.
Barack Obama
was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP, and is the
president for the Barack Obama
administration.
Andrea Soros
is a director at the Acumen Fund,
and George Soros’s daughter.
Amy
Robbins Towers is an advisory council member for the Acumen Fund,
and a board member for the CDC Foundation.
CDC
Foundation is a foundation for the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC).
William
H. Foege was a director at the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC), and is a professor at Emory University.
Jeffrey
P. Koplan was a director at the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC), and is a VP at Emory University.
No comments:
Post a Comment