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Ebola: U.S. Hospitals “Still Unprepared”; “Must be Confronted in Africa”

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rsz_141023183511-craig-spencer-facebook---read-notes-story-bodyMERYL NASS, M.D., merylnass at gmail.com, @NassMeryl
Nass writes at the Anthrax Vaccine blog. She has debunked government claims from early on in the Ebola crisis, including the slowness of the response in Africa and the notion that U.S. hospitals were prepared before the events in Dallas. She said today: “Officials continue to claim that Ebola is only transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids. We don’t know this. There is ample evidence from animal experiments that Ebola can be transmitted through aerosol droplets that are expelled when we cough, sneeze and speak. Furthermore, CDC has tacitly acknowledged this, by enhancing their personal protective equipment [PPE] recommendation to cover droplets, on Oct. 20.

“However, hospitals in the U.S. are still unprepared for Ebola. You need a BSL-4 lab (like at the U.S.’s four biocontainment facilities) to safely test Ebola victims’ blood, and avoid contaminating the laboratory. There are no such hospital labs in New York, though Bellevue seems to have made some preparedness efforts, and is in the process of building such a lab

“Furthermore, patients who recover from Ebola tend to have persisting medical problems. And recovery is not assured. Fifty-six percent of doctors and nurses in Africa who developed Ebola have died.

“For all these reasons, the United States will not be able to easily manage an Ebola epidemic. Therefore, it MUST be confronted and ended in Africa. It’s scandalous that the richer nations and WHO failed to respond last spring, before thousands died. The international community, with the notable exception of Cuba, has totally failed in its responsibilities.”

Some of Nass’ recent posts: “MSF [Doctors Without Borders] discusses treatment approaches and its role in therapeutic drug trials.”

Airborne Spread of Ebola from Pigs to Macaques / Nature.”

Indemnifying Pharma for Ebola Vaccines: Recipe for Problems?

Is This A New, More Virulent Ebola?

CDC defined infectious respiratory droplet transmission as different than airborne.”