On September 30th, the first case of the Ebola Virus was confirmed in the US and a patient was admitted into isolation at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital. The patient was confirmed to have been traveling in West Africa, and had developed several symptoms upon his return to Dallas. The diagnosis was confirmed by The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention. But before you rush to Loblaws, expecting some World War Z remake, let’s examine the facts.
The current situation is really a game of let’s wait and see. This is a test of the American healthcare system. We do not know if the patient had any chance to pass on the virus. Ebola is spread human-to-human by direct contact with blood, secretions, organs, or other bodily fluids of an infected person, or surfaces and objects touched by an infected person. This is why two of the patients who came back from Africa with Ebola were doctors. Even when cured, a person can still be infectious for up to seven weeks after. Although rare, some people have even become infected by handling the corpse of an infectious person. Right now, government officials will be collecting information and names of every person who was near the US infected patient on his travels home. However, this is nearly impossible. Any possible route, from Western Africa to Dallas, would lead a person through several delta hubs, where the patient would have touched dozens of things.
But don’t worry, Ebola is very hard to get. First of all, in order for a person to contract the disease, they would have had exchanged bodily fluids within someone infected, used an unsterilized needle, or have had sexual relations with an infected person. The people most likely to contract it would be close friends and family. Oddly enough, Ebola can be found in semen for up to 3 months after the man was cured. Ebola is very slow moving in terms of areas of expansion. The really scary thing with Ebola is that the fatality rate hoovers around 50%. This is in contrast with the Spanish Flu fatality rate that was about 20%. Ebola is the perfect weapon against a hospital or medical institutions. Ebola quickly spreads when healthcare workers do not wear the proper equipment (masks, gowns, and gloves and eye protection), or fail to implement proper hand washing procedures. This is a huge part of why the current outbreak is the biggest in history. Vice covers the subject very well:
Basically, the chance of Ebola in Ottawa is not very high. This risk only increases if you have a family member or friend returning from West Africa. If they are infected, it will take 8-10 (but up to 21) days for any symptoms to occur. Immediate help is what will save the lives of those infected with this terrible disease.
Photo Credits:
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/oct/05/ebola-america-range-big-pharma