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Once again, it is a nurse who has taken the Ebola media spotlight this week. Kaci Hickox, a nurse who cared for Ebola patients in Sierra Leone found herself quarantined against her will in New Jersey upon her return to the US, in spite of the fact that she tested negative for the virus. After a 3 day isolation in less than desirable accommodations, she was transported home where she was supposed to remain under home quarantine but is now declaring that the quarantine is unnecessary and counterproductive, and is openly defying the order by going out in public.
Additional breaches in voluntary quarantine from those returning from Ebola-plagued Africa occurred when NBC medical correspondent, Dr. Nancy Snyderman in New Jersey and Dr. Craig Spencer in New York left their homes and ventured out into public spaces.
On Monday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) called for voluntary home quarantine for workers with the highest risk for Ebola infection. It also specified that most medical personnel returning from Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea would not need to be kept in isolation.
In spite of this, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, mandated a 21-day mandatory quarantine policy for all healthcare workers exposed to Ebola. Although this move has received much criticism, it did get the support of Dr. Bruce Beutler, an American doctor and researcher and Nobel Prize winner for Medicine and Physiology for his work researching the the body’s overall immune system. He is currently the Director of the Center for the Genetics of Host Defense at the University of Texas Southwestern Center in Dallas. He favors Christie’s quarantine policy “because it’s not entirely clear that they can’t transmit the disease,” referring to asymptomatic healthcare workers like Kaci Hickox.
New York and Illinois have also have followed suit and mandated mandatory 21-day home quarantine policies. Although there is plenty of scientific evidence indicating there’s very little chance that a random person will contract Ebola unless they touch bodily fluids of an infected person, the thought is that the authorities need to do something to calm Americans’ fears. As Mike Osterholm, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota, says, "You want to try to eliminate not just real risk, but perceived risk."
There are thoughts on both sides of this issue which has led to heated discussions at times. There are concerns about the potential impact with both pathways of re-entry requirements for Ebola healthcare workers. What are your thoughts about this? Please take our survey to share your opinions. Let your voice be heard.
The CDC actually has published guidelines on the use of different types of thermometers for screening, and backs the use of infrared "forehead scanner" thermometers and refers to them as being "relatively accurate". The CDC guidelines only recommend that a temperature obtained by a non-FDA approved device be confirmed with an FDA approved device which is not required to be an oral thermometer. There are a variety of FDA approved infrared thermometers that are used in airport and other screenings.
A single temp does not indicate automatic quarantine, but it also separates her from those who have had no positive triggers. All quarantine orders are issued for each specific situation.
Actually that puts her into the symptomatic category.
Early stage viral infections can present with a labile temp combined with a transient burst of viremia. She tested negative for the virus at that time.
The next thing the politicians will be suggesting is an implantable thermometer for everyone returning from taking care of ebola patients in Africa....lol
The CDC actually has published guidelines on the use of different types of thermometers for screening, and backs the use of infrared "forehead scanner" thermometers and refers to them as being "relatively accurate". The CDC guidelines only recommend that a temperature obtained by a non-FDA approved device be confirmed with an FDA approved device which is not required to be an oral thermometer. There are a variety of FDA approved infrared thermometers that are used in airport and other screenings.
A single temp does not indicate automatic quarantine, but it also separates her from those who have had no positive triggers. All quarantine orders are issued for each specific situation.
Yes, but one elevated temp was all it took to lock her up...
Yes, but one elevated temp was all it took to lock her up...
I'm by no means saying that was appropriate, I'm saying there was no proof that she did not have ebola and there was an indicator that further monitoring was required, which is the same thing the CDC says.
They don't trust the people returning to self monitor their temps and symptoms, why would they trust your own thermometer. Fear is not rational.
This reminded me of something that has been bothering me for a while. There seem to be some people here and elsewhere who don’t think that returning healthcare workers can be trusted to self-monitor and report if they become symptomatic.
I find that quite irrational.
First of all, these healthcare professionals travel halfway across the world to try to help stop this outbreak. Why would they willfully risk spreading the disease?
It makes no sense. Secondly, wouldn’t they want to receive the proper medical treatment as soon as possible in order to increase their chances of recovery and survival?
Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
Actually that puts her into the symptomatic category. It's not unusual for someone with a viral infection, particularly in the early stages to have a labile temperature which is why generally accepted ebola screening protocols consider a single elevated temperature to trigger the need for further monitoring and reduction of their potential for exposing others. If continued checks (not just a single check) continue to show no fever then the risk level can eventually be reduced. The forehead scanners are hardly perfect, but that's been the standard for ebola screening for many years.
If you get an unusual BP reading with an automatic BP cuff, what do you do? I know what I do. I don't call the doc and say, "ZOMG!!! John Doe's BP is 220/186!!! He's gonna blow!!!" I recheck it manually, and I make sure that the pt's BP is indeed being read accurately.
Early stage viral infections can present with a labile temp combined with a transient burst of viremia. She tested negative for the virus at that time.
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Testing negative at that stage doesn't actually confirm someone is ebola free.
If you get an unusual BP reading with an automatic BP cuff, what do you do? I know what I do. I don't call the doc and say, "ZOMG!!! John Doe's BP is 220/186!!! He's gonna blow!!!" I recheck it manually, and I make sure that the pt's BP is indeed being read accurately.
Actually I continue to check it to make sure it continues to read what I hope it reads. I don't just take two conflicting readings and take the one that I like.
The next thing the politicians will be suggesting is an implantable thermometer for everyone returning from taking care of ebola patients in Africa....lol
MunoRN, RN
8,058 Posts
The CDC actually has published guidelines on the use of different types of thermometers for screening, and backs the use of infrared "forehead scanner" thermometers and refers to them as being "relatively accurate". The CDC guidelines only recommend that a temperature obtained by a non-FDA approved device be confirmed with an FDA approved device which is not required to be an oral thermometer. There are a variety of FDA approved infrared thermometers that are used in airport and other screenings.
A single temp does not indicate automatic quarantine, but it also separates her from those who have had no positive triggers. All quarantine orders are issued for each specific situation.