Nurse are you worried about the ebola outbreak?

Published

and the chance of it spreading throughout the nation?

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Short answer: Yes!

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Not really

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.

Not really. It's spread by infectious body fluids.

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Specializes in Critical care.

No and I hate the hysteria.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.

Nope...there are far more infectious agents like Enterovirus D86 who are affecting children critically and TB and others that are already out here that we have to contend with.

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Specializes in School Nursing.

Not even a little. I'm worried for all the people in West Africa though. :(

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No and I hate the hysteria.

This right here.

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Specializes in Emergency Department.

Short answer: No.

Long answer: No. We know how it's transmitted. Even if it can be transmitted by an airborne route, it's going to be droplet, just like the flu. We know how to prevent transmission that way too... we all should be well aware of what PPE is needed for Contact & Droplet isolation precautions. We know that people aren't infectious until they start having symptoms because until that happens, they're not shedding virus.

It's spreading quickly in Africa in large part because they have certain funeral/death rituals that expose people to body fluids that are very, very infectious (and have HUGE viral loads) and many people over there don't understand, or are afraid of, western medicine and won't take basic barrier precautions and then they get sick.

We know how to do that here in the US. Every EMS worker knows or should know how to take contact and respiratory precautions... they just have to suspect that the patient is infectious.

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