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US Army To Transport American Ebola Victim To Atlanta Hospital From Liberia
acidradio (659704) writes American air charter specialist Phoenix Air has been contracted by the U.S. Army to haul an American physician afflicted with Ebola from Liberia to the Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. This will be the first 'purposeful' transport of an Ebola victim to the U.S. The patient will be flown in a special Gulfstream III (formerly owned by the Danish Air Force) outfitted for very specialized medical transports such as this. I dunno. I know there are brilliant doctors and scientists in Atlanta who handle highly-communicable diseases, but is this such a brilliant idea?
theodp (442580) writes with related news In response to the Ebola outbreak, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued Interim Guidance about Ebola Virus Infection for Airline Flight Crews, Cleaning Personnel, and Cargo Personnel. "Ebola virus is transmitted by close contact with a person who has symptoms of Ebola," the CDC explains. "Close contact is defined as having cared for or lived with a person with Ebola or having a high likelihood of direct contact with blood or body fluids of an Ebola patient. Examples of close contact include kissing or embracing, sharing eating or drinking utensils, close conversation (3 feet), physical examination, and any other direct physical contact between people. Close contact does not include walking by a person or briefly sitting across a room from a person."
Um, there are massive differences between Atlanta and Liberia.
Do you believe the following are regular occurrences in Atlanta?
1) Family of someone who died of a known infectious disease choose to hand-wash the corpse anyway, with full knowledge of the cause of death. (Note: Many Africans apparently don't believe the disease exists.)
2) Local residents protest the hospital because they believe that the "story" about the infections disease is a coverup for ritual cannibalism. http://www.reuters.com/article...
3) Local residents break in to the isolation ward to remove an infected family member from the hospital
retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
Their stated reason for doing it -> "So the patient receives better healthcare."
Their real reason for doing it -> "We received a phone call at 4 AM on Tuesday telling us that Ebola Zaire (the magical strain of D00M) has been hopping between countries in Africa, and that the natives are hiding the infected because their witch doctors told them that Western Medicine is the source of the disease. The people at the CDC (that's us) actually have a plan written down for this particular scenario, and we're following it to the letter.
Long ago, we figured that it was only a matter of time, in a scenario like this, before Ebola Zaire would become airborne; our goal is then to extract several of the infected early on, and learn what we can from them, living and dead. Officially, we will be keeping airports open, and so on, right up until the first infected lands stateside; this is to keep the people from panicking. Once that panic sets in, God help you.
Seeing how it's Ebola Zaire, we are not totally defenseless. Antiviral drugs, such as interferon analogs, may increase the chances of survival; the question of the supply of said drugs be a source of contention.
As always, your fearless leaders will be directing the relief effort from the nearest bunker, with a sign over the entrance "No Admittance.""