West African boy is screened for Ebola in Miami; disease called unlikely
Source: Miami Herald
South Floridas medical community went on high alert Sunday when it was feared an ill teen visiting Miami Beach from West Africa might have contracted Ebola.
Hazardous materials teams were called in. A pediatric hospital unit was quarantined. Surrounding streets at Jackson Memorial Hospital were blocked.
Even so, medical experts said the probability of Ebola in this case was extremely low. Health authorities nevertheless acted urgently, taking no chances.
The teen had gone to Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach when he became sick with flu-like symptoms. A special team transferred him to Jackson on Sunday for further tests.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article2522088.html#storylink=cpy
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article2522088.html#storylink=cpy
Better to overreact than ignore it, sending him home with antibiotics. Good to see a better response than Dallas Pres.
calimary
(81,466 posts)Problematic, though, that there's no available medication like the little bit that was used successfully on those first two doctors who were treated at Emory University.
kestrel91316
(51,666 posts)Remember, the 70%+ mortality statistics have, until now, come virtually without exception from African cases in deplorable Third World conditions, and often with zero medical care at all. Of course the uncounted cases are probably 90% mortality, so there's that.
But treating early can make a huge difference.
calimary
(81,466 posts)kestrel91316
(51,666 posts)But it is Floriduh.
You do know that South Florida is hugely Democratic, right?
At least I'm a little happier with this response than to have them send him home and start an outbreak down here.
valerief
(53,235 posts)Tarheel_Dem
(31,240 posts)near the African continent in many, many years, and have never been to W. Africa in their lives. Some of us were around in the 80's, and saw how people were treated, and in many cases, mistreated by their own communities because of HIV/AIDS. Fears may certainly be well founded, but there must be a way to contain this horrible disease while not stigmatizing an entire community of people.
I heard this story on NPR, it's worth a listen, and it's only 4 minutes long. http://www.pri.org/node/69650/popout
Hussein Mohamed, originally from Ethiopia, runs a radio show for African immigrants in his hometown of Atlanta.
But he's worried about the effect that Ebola fears are having on the way that people treat Africans. Recently, Mohamed had to take his mother, an elderly asthma sufferer, to a nearby hospital, DeKalb Medical.
"They have a sign [that says] if you are from Africa or you've been in contact with someone from Africa and you're feeling sick, put on a face mask," he says. The sign targets all Africans, he complains, while just three countries out of more than 50 on the continent are actually battling Ebola.
http://www.pri.org/stories/2014-10-06/atlanta-radio-host-wants-people-stop-stigmatizing-africans-over-ebola
TexasMommaWithAHat
(3,212 posts)I'm actually for stricter travel restrictions for persons from the areas infected by ebola, but I can also read a map and remember a bit of geography.
Tarheel_Dem
(31,240 posts)the conversation. Admittedly, I don't know how we filter them out, but stigma and stereotypes suck. I happen to work with a young lady who's from Kenya, and she has related stories about her children being targeted at school, and her husband's job might even be on the line. These people have been in this country for 20+ years, and are now being treated like lepers.
As far as travel, I understand that there are no direct flights from the affected countries, so hopefully there are protocols in place at every international stop. Seems that some airlines have instituted their own restrictions for West African travelers.