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health care worker who treated Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person in the U.S. diagnosed with
Ebola who later died, has preliminarily tested positive for the deadly virus, the Texas Department of State Health Services said in a statement today.
The health care worker at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital has been isolated since reporting a low-grade fever Friday, the department said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will conduct further testing to confirm the diagnosis.
"We knew a second case could be a reality, and we've been preparing for this possibility," Dr. David Lakey, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services said in the statement. "We are broadening our team in Dallas and working with extreme diligence to prevent further spread."
caroladybelle, BSN, RN
5,486 Posts
The problem. Several administrations have periodically cut appropriations for the CDC, decreasing its abilities to do their work. In fact, there have been a number of right wing candidates for office over the past 15 years, even presidential candidates that have wanted to dismantle the CDC, saying that private interests would do a better job.
Now if an agency is continually getting funds, is it going to allocate more resources into researching and treating the diseases that are the main killers, many of them, things that harm US citizens most (as it is s US agency), or sink much higher amounts of resources into an uncommon disease requiring very expensive treatments (antivirals), that has not affected most Americans. When your funding depends on political goodwill, guess which is going to get the money?
Second, ebola is a virus, making it much harder to treat. I guarantee that both CDC and WHO having been investigating to find effective treatments for the last 30 or more years for ebola as it has flared and burned out, repeatedly killing people in Africa on a regular basis. Telling them to "hurry up" and fix this disease, when they trying to do so for decades is insulting. (Yes, I know a few CDCers). The time to have "hurried up" was a few decades ago, back before it reached our shores. But I doubt if any private US interests found working for that treatment/vaccine financially beneficial.
Add in, ZMapp, one of the experimentally meds that has some
promise, consists of three monoclonal antibodies. That is not a drug that can be easily or quickly made. When you are looking a Mabs as a major treatment for anything, getting an effective treatment will be very hard to come by.