Doctor brought to Omaha for observation remains free of Ebola virus

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Omaha World Herald

By Bob Glissmann

The American physician who was being monitored for Ebola virus disease in Omaha has remained virus-free and now can leave town upon completion of a 21-day observation period.

The last check of the doctor’s temperature was Sunday morning, said Phil Rooney, a spokesman for the Douglas County Health Department.

"They are or soon will be leaving town," Rooney said. "There were no problems."

The physician arrived in Omaha on Feb. 15 to be monitored here and to be close to the Nebraska Medical Center, which has a biocontainment unit where Ebola patients have been treated.

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://www.livewellnebraska.com/ebola/physician-remains-ebola-free-after--day-observation-period-in/article_404547c8-c05a-11e4-a187-239a7b15e89b.html

[Warpy]

1. I'm happy for him

that it wasn't Ebola, just some annoying and less fatal illness.

Even though people who are treated early enough here are likely to survive it, the process of surviving is horrible.

Meanwhile, the decreasing rate of new infection in Africa has now leveled off, and Ebola seems to be leaving the epidemic stage and entering an endemic stage in which there will be a steady stream of new cases, but no epidemic spikes.

The HIV virus has shown signs of attenuating, of becoming less virulent. I hope the Ebola virus does the same.

[uppityperson]

2. I was just reading this article "At cusp of zero cases, Ebola returned by sea", Sierra Leone, Feb

I am glad it is slowing down, hoping it continues to do so. I was just reading this article before I saw this OP.

http://www.seattletimes.com/news/at-cusp-of-zero-cases-ebola-returned-by-sea/

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone —(clip)

New cases were plummeting. The president lifted travel restrictions, and schools were to reopen. A politician said on the radio that two 21-day incubation cycles had passed with no new infections in his Freetown neighborhood. Sierra Leone, many health officials said, was “on the road to zero.”

Then Ebola washed in from the sea.

Sick fishermen came ashore in early February to the packed, wharf-side slums that surround the country’s fanciest hotels, which were filled with international medical workers. Volunteers fanned out to contain the outbreak, but the virus jumped quarantine lines and cascaded into the countryside, bringing dozens of new infections and deaths.

(clip)

As large epidemics taper off, it is common to find new complications in the effort to reach zero cases. “Oftentimes we find surprises when we get to a low level that were hidden by the epidemic itself early on,” said Dr. William Foege, a former director of the CDC and a leading figure in the eradication of smallpox.....(more @ link)

[malokvale77]

3. Related news...

Last edited Mon Mar 2, 2015, 04:54 PM - Edit history (1)

I saw today that Nina Pham is filing a lawsuit tomorrow against Texas Health Resources.