Doctors Without Borders Physician Tests Possitive for Ebola In New York City

[herring_RN]

New York tests doctor who was in West Africa for Ebola

By Ellen Wulfhorst

NEW YORK Thu Oct 23, 2014

A physician with Doctors without Borders who returned from West Africa recently and developed potential symptoms is being tested for Ebola at a New York City hospital, health officials said on Thursday, setting off fresh fears about the spread of the virus.

The doctor developed a fever and gastrointestinal symptoms, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said in a statement. Preliminary results of the Ebola testing were expected in the next 12 hours...

... Mayor Bill de Blasio said test results would be made public, possibly late on Thursday evening.

"It is our understanding very few people were in direct contact with him," de Blasio said at a news conference. "Every protocol has been followed.

"We're hoping for a good outcome for this individual," he said.

The doctor reported his fever immediately, and Doctors Without Borders said it promptly notified the city health department.

The patient, who returned to the United States within the past 21 days, is being treated at Bellevue Hospital, the health department said. Twenty-one days is the maximum incubation period for Ebola...

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/10/23/uk-health-ebola-newyork-idUKKCN0IC2KE20141023

[chadrn65]

New York and New Jersey Tighten Ebola Screenings at Airports

New rules described in NYT above.

Governor "chides" hospitalized doctor

The above link is in blog form -- scroll down to see news of NY Governor "chiding" the doctor just diagnosed with Ebola

Thank you, just finished reading both. Yesterday I read that a family of 6 from West Africa were quarantined in Conn.

[chadrn65]

More info on NY and NJ.

New York and New Jersey Will Quarantine Ebola Doctors - NBC News

[macawake, MSN]

Elisabeth Cohen, CNN Senior Medical Correspondent

NYC Ebola: No cause for alarm, mayor says - CNN.com

I think that I love this woman.

"Not even twenty-four hours ago I said on CNN, I wonder if they’ll make new rules for healthcare workers returning from West Africa to the US. And boy less than twenty-four hours, did they ever. Governors Christie and Cuomo saying that in New Jersey (and New York ??) asymptomatic, healthy returning healthcare workers will be quarantined for twenty-one days even though they’re asymptomatic, and couldn’t possibly spread Ebola.

02:58

Now getting back to that mandatory quarantine here for healthcare workers returning to New York or New Jersey, Governors Christie and Cuomo didn’t really explain why someone who can’t spread Ebola would need to be quarantined. But one thing is clear, I’ve been talking to healthcare workers who’ve been to Africa. They say that they wouldn’t go back if they knew that upon their return, they’d have to be alone for twenty-one days, couldn’t see their family, couldn’t work. So single-handedly, Governors Christie and Cuomo may very well have made the situation in Africa even worse, because now fewer doctors and nurses will want to help."

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Why did they make this decision? My guess is that they caved in to public pressure and fear.

In my opinion this decision lacks scientific rationale.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

And yet we have people in full freak-out because Amber Vinson, with a very low-grade fever and no other symptoms, got on an airplane. Go figure.

Interesting that Dr. Spencer had "unfortunate circumstances" and "was low risk to infect anyone" while Ms. Pham "must have broken protocol" and Ms. Vinson "put the public at risk when she selfishly decided to board an airliner".

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

I'm sorry, but I'm not clear what you're asking. I think I detect some sarcasm......?

While a low-grade fever may technically be considered 'symptomatic,' the patient is not yet 'symptomatic enough' to spread the virus, for two reasons: First, the viral load is too low. Second, this virus is transmitted via body fluids, and patients don't start producing infectious vomit, diarrhea, etc. until later, when they are very symptomatic and the viral load is high.

As far as we know, he was not having diarrhea at the point he went bowling. He may have urinated, but:

"The absence of EBOV infection in multiple tested urine specimens suggests that the virus may not be efficiently filtered in the kidney. Consequently, exposure to urine appears to be of low risk during both acute illness and convalescence."

Assessment of the Risk of Ebola Virus Transmission from Bodily Fluids and Fomites

Assessment of the Risk of Ebola Virus Transmission from Bodily Fluids and Fomites

The thing is, Ms. Vinson was publicly pilloried for daring to use public transportation (after the CDC okayed it), but Dr. Spencer has notably NOT been thrown under the bus he was riding.

[TheGooch]

Good. Any medical professional who has direct contact will be quarantined in NY and NJ for 21 days. About time. Too bad that people feel it isn't necessary. That's life.

[macawake, MSN]

The thing is, Ms. Vinson was publicly pilloried for daring to use public transportation (after the CDC okayed it), but Dr. Spencer has notably NOT been thrown under the bus he was riding.

I think that if you have a look around the internet you’ll find that there are plenty of self-appointed infectious disease experts, spewing hatred at this physician as well. If you want to see criticism voiced against him, you don’t have to look further than this thread. Right here, he’s been called stupid and arrogant. On the internet I’ve read far more vicious attacks.

Would it help Nurse Vinson one iota if an official representative said something similar about the doctor, as was said about her? Would that somehow lessen the insult to her?

Blaming the nurse for flying and blaming the doctor for riding the subway, both are equally ridiculous. Shouldn’t we celebrate the fact that at least from official quarters, the response is a bit more tempered this time around? (Apart from the quarantine thing which seems rather hysterical, but perhaps it’s necessary for political reasons). Perhaps they’ve actually learned a lesson? Wouldn’t that be a good thing? They shouldn’t be forced to repeat a previous clumsy and ill-advised statement, just so that no nurses feel that doctors get special treatment.

Neither the nurses nor this physician deserve the horrible things that have been said about them. They cared for sick people in need, and their own health has been affected because of it.

[Christy1019, ASN, RN]

^^ This! Every story I have read about this case so far is plagued with hatred being spewed about this man. I found out today that I went to highschool with him and his sister, and although I don't remember him specifically, I know he was a good and generous man to have been volunteering to care for the African Ebola patients.

I know that many of you are upset that he didn't get the blame like they did to the nurses, however, look at the backlash the hospital, CDC, and media got from nurses and other medical professionals, so why would they do that again?

Prayers for this man's speedy recovery!

[RNSue]

Whew!

Where do I start?

1. I do not want to play the blame game of nurses vs. doctors. I feel in the face of this situation it is humans vs. ebola. Playing the blame game is a moot point now. There are more important things to worry about.

2. I want to read posts and articles on the scientific aspects of the ebola virus and how it spreads, mutates, and how to contain it.

3. Missy Write-- I was not being sarcastic when I posted about Amber having a low grade temp and being positive. Wasn't she whisked off to isolation? Please don't take offense because I expressed my opinion. Please lets all maintain a professional demeanor. Lots of people are reading these posts who aren't healthcare providers. We need to remember that and not sink to behavior that degrades ourselves and our profession.

4. From what I've read the experts are not certain that it can't mutate and become airborne. The doctor who wrote "The Hot Zone" said a couple days ago on the news that this could easily happen. Therefore I am all for MANDATORY STRICT ISOLATION if there is a possibility a person could have ebola, no matter what stage it is in. Because we just don't know enough right now. We have professional people getting ebola. We need to CONTAIN it. Hospitals do not have details in place yet. Training is not complete. There are still issues with protocols.

Some of us "more experienced nurses" remember the beginnings of MRSA, HIV, VRE. We all tried to contain it and we all saw it spread slowly across the country over the years. From our perspective this is going to continue to spread like everything else did, but EBOLA is much more deadly.

RNSue

[edmia, BSN, RN]

This was a lot of stuff to read, but have we all understood that the 103 degree fever was an ERROR in reporting?

His temp was 100.3 yesterday morning and he called 911 and clearly explained who he was and that he needed immediate isolation.

He was not symptomatic the night before. The risk of contagion from a non-symptomatic person is near zero.

I'm with the poster supporting science on this thread. Is it really that hard to understand?

Let's please remember that the real Ebola crisis is in West Africa where this doctor was helping people. Not here. And, Bellevue is the opposite of the worst hospital for this exact kind of care.

[TriciaJ, RN]

Whew!

Where do I start?

1. I do not want to play the blame game of nurses vs. doctors. I feel in the face of this situation it is humans vs. ebola. Playing the blame game is a moot point now. There are more important things to worry about.

2. I want to read posts and articles on the scientific aspects of the ebola virus and how it spreads, mutates, and how to contain it.

3. Missy Write-- I was not being sarcastic when I posted about Amber having a low grade temp and being positive. Wasn't she whisked off to isolation? Please don't take offense because I expressed my opinion. Please lets all maintain a professional demeanor. Lots of people are reading these posts who aren't healthcare providers. We need to remember that and not sink to behavior that degrades ourselves and our profession.

4. From what I've read the experts are not certain that it can't mutate and become airborne. The doctor who wrote "The Hot Zone" said a couple days ago on the news that this could easily happen. Therefore I am all for MANDATORY STRICT ISOLATION if there is a possibility a person could have ebola, no matter what stage it is in. Because we just don't know enough right now. We have professional people getting ebola. We need to CONTAIN it. Hospitals do not have details in place yet. Training is not complete. There are still issues with protocols.

Some of us "more experienced nurses" remember the beginnings of MRSA, HIV, VRE. We all tried to contain it and we all saw it spread slowly across the country over the years. From our perspective this is going to continue to spread like everything else did, but EBOLA is much more deadly.

RNSue

I think the bottom line is that we don't know all there is to know about ebola. It's premature to be asserting how it can and can't be spread. Science is a wonderful thing, but we don't have all the answers yet. In the meantime, shouldn't we err on the side of caution?

Doesn't it make sense for people who have been in the hot zones to lay low for 21 days after they return? Yes, it makes it more onerous to even volunteer, but if people's families start getting infected, that won't encourage many people to sign up.

I think being overly cavalier at this point just paves the way for hysteria when cases do occur. A calm and proactive response can go a long way to quelling hysteria and fear-mongering.

[Semolina]

Regarding public perception of Ebola, I found this blog post about the book "The Hot Zone" interesting. The author, who is an associate professor at Kent State, suggests that there is a sensationalist bias in the book. I haven't read the book and don't have the background to judge any of this, but at least it explains why there are lots of internet comments about liquefied organs.

She also wrote about what went on at Kent State after news got out that Amber Vinson had relatives working there, and she has other articles on Ebola.

This is her bio.