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U.S. SOLDIERS QUARANTINED

On Monday, AlertsUSA subscribers were some of the first in the nation to learn that the Dept. of Defense had quarantined 11 U.S. soldiers and a two-star general following a deployment to the West African Ebola hot zone. The soldiers were some of the first sent to the region and had traveled widely around Liberia laying groundwork for additional force deployments. The quarantine location is the U.S. Army Garrison in Vicenza, Italy, located approximately 40 miles West of Venice. The soldiers will be monitored for 21 days at an isolated location on the base. By Wed of next week another 35 soldiers will join the original 11.

The decision to quarantine American soldiers at the base has sparked outrage in Italy, with increasing calls for the government to demand the U.S. move the soldiers back to U.S. soil.

On Thursday Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel defended the decision that all U.S. military personnel serving in Ebola affected countries, regardless of rank, will undergo 21 days of quarantine and monitoring due to their unique role, the scale of the deployment and the need to protect other soldiers and their families from possible infection. He called the move a “smart, wise, prudent, disciplined, science-oriented decision.”

QUARANTINE PROTOCOLS: PRUDENT VS POLITICAL

So as to highlight the ongoing chaotic, disconnected response to Ebola at the federal level, contrast the strength of the Pentagon’s quarantine model for soldiers who are not even working with Ebola victims with the luke warm, seemingly politically motivated CDC guidelines calling for voluntary isolation of healthcare workers who are providing direct care for infected individuals.

NY EBOLA PATIENT LIED TO INVESTIGATORS

AlertsUSA reminds readers of NY Governor Cuomo’s comment from last week regarding mandatory quarantine where he stated that “It’s too serious a situation to leave it to the honor system of compliance.” His words were driven home this week when it was revealed that New York City’s first Ebola patient, Dr. Craig Spencer, initially lied to authorities about his travels around the city following his return to the U.S. from treating Ebola patients in Guinea.

According to the New York Post, law enforcement sources indicate Dr. Spencer at first told officials that he isolated himself in his Harlem apartment upon his return. Detectives then reviewed his credit card statement and MetroCard and discovered that he in fact had traveled all over the city.

Then we have nurse Kaci Hickox who has gained significant notoriety this week by whining to the national media about being quarantined when she landed in New Jersey with a fever. After a few days, New Jersey Governor Chris Christi effectively deported her to Maine, where she was ordered by that state’s health authorities into self quarintine in her home, an order she ignored until Friday when a Maine court ordered significant restrictions.

PETULANT NURSE WORKS FOR THE CDC

While nurse Hickox initially claimed that she worked with Doctors Without Borders, a fact she oddly chose to downplay is that she is an Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) officer for the CDC (also see this, her name at the top, position listed at the bottom).

SCIENCE SUPPORTS QUARANTINES

While nurse Hickox, President Obama, the ACLU, the CDC and even the United Nations Secretary General slammed highly restrictive quarantine rules, science clearly supports such measures. Research published just last month in the peer reviewed New England Journal of Medicine states that 13% of 4000 Ebola cases studied in this outbreak DO NOT HAVE FEVERS.

2011 NOBEL PRIZE WINNER SUPPORTS QUARANTINES

The strategy of mandatory quarantine has received strong backing by Nobel Prize-winning doctor and medical researcher, Bruce Beutler, who was awarded the prize in 2011 for his studies on the human immune system. In an interview with NJ Advance Media, Beutler said he favored such quarantines because “it’s not entirely clear that they can’t transmit the disease“ and there are conditions within which they may actually be infectious before they have a fever.

AUSTRALIA AND CANADA SUSPEND VISAS FOR HOT ZONE

This week Australia joined the growing ranks of nations closing the door to people seeking entry from Ebola-affected west African countries, implementing an across the board halt to processing visa applications from Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea. The Australian government has also cancelled and is refusing non-permanent or temporary visas held by people from Ebola-affected countries who have yet to leave for Australia. Further, permanent visa holders from these countries are being required to submit to a 21-day quarantine period prior to departure for Australia.

Late this week Canada implemented nearly the same measures, but with the caveat of case by case exemptions.

CDC ADMITS AEROSOL TRANSMISSION…. FOR A MOMENT

This week the CDC made the tacit admission that Ebola can in fact be transmitted by droplets and aerosols released in sneezes. The admission came in the form of a new information poster and fact sheet explaining how Ebola can be spread. Oddly, within days of the poster and fact sheet appearing, which were then highlighted in news articles, they were quickly removed from the CDC website.

USGOV TO BRING FOREIGN EBOLA VICTMS TO THE U.S.?

It was reported this week that the State Department has quietly made plans to bring Ebola-infected doctors and medical aides to the U.S. for treatment. This, according to an internal department document leaked to the Washington Times. The document is reported to have already been shared with Congress and even details the expected price per patient, with transportation costs at $200,000 and treatment at $300,000. Not surprisingly, once the story broke, the State Department spin machine went into action saying the plan had been shelved.

EBOLA STATS
(CDC / WHO estimate actual numbers approx 4X higher)

SOURCE: World Health Organization

Additionally, this week alone the New York Health Department reports they are monitoring 117 people for Ebola in just the five boroughs of New York City. The New Jersey State Health Department reports monitoring approximately 100 individuals and Pennsylvania reports
105.

NEW WHO GUIDANCE ON PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT

WHO has conducted a formal review of personal protective equipment (PPE) guidelines for healthcare workers and has updated its guidelines in context of the current Ebola outbreak.

AlertsUSA has established an Ebola preparedness website offing specific guidance and information on how to prepare for and respond to a domestic outbreak of Ebola. http://www.EbolaReady.com .

Many of the preparedness suggestions on this page reflect common sense. Others will come across as cold and severe until it is remembered that Ebola is a highly infectious and deadly pathogen. More than half of those who become infected die and that death is particularly gruesome.

In addition, we make product suggestions on the site with links to a multitude of suppliers via Amazon as they are convenient and inexpensive compared to most retail outlets. That said, if you can find these products elsewhere at a better price, grab t. The links are there for your convenience.

OTHER RESOURCES

For 13 of the past 14 weeks, AlertsUSA and Threat Journal have been warning of the progression of the West Africa Ebola outbreak and the danger posed to the continental United States (See
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13). A wealth of information is available within those past issues.

As always, AlertsUSA continues to closely monitor developments with the spread of this virus and will immediately notify service subscribers of major changes in its spread to different regions, important notices and warnings by government agencies or any other major changes in the overall threat environment as events warrant