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  • Ebola Patient Thomas Duncan Dies: American Panic Over Illness Grows

    Thomas Eric Duncan, known as the first Ebola patient diagnosed in the United States, passed away on Wednesday morning at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas.

    Hospital spokesman Wendell Watson said that the loss filled the medical staff with “profound sadness and heartfelt disappointment.”

    Duncan was diagnosed on September 28th, a little over a week after returning from Liberia.

    Though Thomas Duncan went to visit family, he unfortunate was caught up in the terrible Ebola epidemic that is responsible for thousands of deaths across parts of Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea, and Nigeria.

    New cases in the United States and Europe have sparked fears of an emerging pandemic.

    Duncan was able to arrive back in the United States and spend several days among other citizens before he checked into a Texas hospital.

    The news that a man was diagnosed with the deadly virus on U.S. soil and that dozens of others were at risk has increased the panic among Americans over the disease.

    Although Duncan’s death is a tragedy, it’s not confirmation of a pandemic.

    It’s important remember concern level relating to Ebola will be likely be determined by how both quarantined and monitored individuals who came into contact with Duncan fare.

    Though as many as 100 people have had contact with Thomas Duncan prior to his diagnosis, officials have only quarantined his immediate family. Others believed to have been in contact with the deceased Ebola patient are being carefully observed for the next few weeks.

    It is this, far more than Duncan’s unfortunate death, that will likely give officials an idea of the range of any potential threat.

    It’s very possible that persons who are quarantined and observed may not have contracted the illness after all.

    Before Americans begin to take one man’s sad death as confirmation of a worst-case-scenario, it’s important to remember to keep things in perspective.

    Ebola may be highly contagious, but it’s also a very fragile and highly containable disease.

    Americans should focus on vaccinating against more common and even FAR more deadly viruses already in our midst. Namely the flu.

    The flu kills tens of thousands of Americans each year, a fact that is often lost among the headlines about exotic, but far less deadly threats to citizens in the United States.

  • Red Cross Ups Its Response to Ebola Crisis in West Africa, Death Toll Continues To Rise

    The Red Cross says it plans to train more than 2,000 extra volunteers in an effort to combat the deadly Ebola outbreak in west Africa.

    “With dozens of new cases emerging daily, this outbreak is showing no signs of slowing down,” said Alasan Senghore, head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies’ Africa unit, in a statement on Thursday.

    “People are dying. If we are serious about stopping Ebola, we cannot afford to delay ramping up our response,” he said.

    Since the outbreak began in March, IFRC said it has already trained approximately 3,500 volunteers in the three hardest-hit countries of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. With the additional trainees, the IFRC hopes to bring that number to over 5,600 volunteers.

    A reported 2,296 deaths attributed to Ebola have been reported in those three countries, according to the World Health Organization.

    “Engaging communities through our trained volunteers will have an immediate and large pay-off, as messages of prevention will be shared by community members themselves,” Senghore said.

    IFRC said it was significantly revising its fundraising goals to $32.3 million, an increase of more than $25 million, in oder to address the devastation in west Africa.

    With increased funding, the organization plans to reach 21.9 million people — more than double the number it had originally targeted — by expanding its operations into new districts and countries.

    Much of the funding will be used for increased communication and awareness-raising in affected communities. It would also help pay for a new 60-bed Ebola treatment center in Sierra Leone.

    In addition to the three hardest-hit countries, IFRC said it has also launched an emergency appeal for $1.6 million to fund operations in Nigeria, where eight people have died from Ebola.

    It has also upped its response in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where 35 people have died from a different strain of Ebola.

  • Ebola Death Toll Still Rising In Africa

    The Ebola outbreak that started in Guinea has spread to neighboring villages and claimed at least 142 lives. The outbreak started in March and began spreading across West Africa. Healthcare workers tried to contain the virus to prevent it from spreading but were not successful. They quarantined patients and advised anyone experiencing symptoms to be checked for the virus.

    By late March, the virus had spread to nearby Liberia. Guinea’s health authorities have reported a total of 208 clinical cases, including 136 deaths. The disease is still spreading through Liberia, but Liberia’s health authorities have already reported 34 clinical cases and at least six deaths.

    The symptoms of Ebola include headache, fever, nausea, chills diarrhea and eventually, internal bleeding and bleeding from the mucous membranes. There is no known cure for the virus and very few treatment options. New treatment options are currently being created and tested in labs across the world, but no vaccine has yet been created and there are no medications available to kill the virus.

    Treatment consists of keeping the patients comfortable and helping to relieve severe symptoms. Healthcare workers try to prevent dehydration by offering clean drinking water to the infected and using IVs to deliver liquid to the body. Pain killers are also offered to patients who complain of headaches, abdominal pain and other aches and pains.

    Healthcare workers in both Guinea and Liberia are focused on quarantining the infected so they can stop the disease from spreading but the World Healthcare Organization fears that the disease may have already started to spread to other locations. They have also said that this Ebola outbreak is the worst they have seen in seven years and they fear it will not be over anytime soon.

    “Since the incubation period for Ebola can be as long as three weeks, it is likely that the Guinean health authorities will report new cases in the coming weeks and additional suspected cases may also be identified in neighboring countries,” WHO said. “It is anticipated that most of the suspected cases currently reported by Liberia will be reclassified as discarded and removed from the case count.”

    WHO recommends not traveling to Guinea, Liberia or other nearby parts of West Africa until the outbreak is over. The virus is easily spread and if picked up by a tourist, it could be spread on an airplane or bus and new outbreaks could occur all over the world.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons