NY, NJ Order Ebola Quarantine for Doctors, Others

Alarmed by the case of an Ebola-infected New York doctor, the governors of New Jersey and New York on Friday ordered a mandatory, 21-day quarantine of all medical workers and other arriving airline passengers who have had contact with victims of the deadly disease in West Africa.

NY, NJ Order Ebola Quarantine for Doctors, Others



Automatic quarantine for medical workers returning to New York and New Jersey from the Ebola-riddled countries in West Africa if they had direct contact with an infected person. Sounds sensible to me. Still no news from the feds though.

Such quarantine measures might affect peoples' willingness to volunteer for an "Ebola tour, but it's the safest way to go.

What do you think?

New quarantine rules considered for aid workers returning to U.S. from Ebola-stricken region

The federal government is considering altering the protocols for doctors and health-care workers who return to the United States from West Africa, authorities said Friday.

....as federal officials consider a possible change, authorities in the New York area announced that they would take more immediate action. Medical personnel returning to New York and New Jersey from the Ebola-riddled countries in West Africa will be automatically quarantined if they had direct contact with an infected person, officials announced Friday.

Yep its about time !

armakirais

Note that New York is home to Kennedy Airport - Newark Liberty is in New Jersey - and both are major international portals.

....The CDC said it sets baseline recommended standards, "but state and local officials have the prerogative to tighten the regimen as they see fit."

The agency also said, "When it comes to the federal standards set by the CDC, we will consider any measures that we believe have the potential to make the American people safer."

...The World Health Organization is not recommending the quarantine of returning aid workers without symptoms, spokeswoman Sona Bari said.

"Health care workers are generally self-monitoring and are aware of the need to report any symptoms, as this patient did," she wrote in an email.

a reply to: soficrow

Well THANK GOD!

This is the best news I have heard all day. I feel a little better. If they wanted to avoid hysteria, things like these will do the trick.

THANK YOU, thank you thank you.

EDIT TO ADD:
People who really go to "help" in Africa wouldnt come back yet if there is still a crisis to avert. When those people who really go to help do come back they would self quarantine if it wasnt asked of them. If they were interested in ending this epidemic they wouldnt risk spreading it. The people who want to go on "Ebola tours" as you put it wouldnt be affected by this. Its not unreasonable to mandate this. If they are offended by being inconvenienced by this I would really like to know what exactly they did in Africa. This is basic stuff.

a reply to: tadaman

I agree - 'bout time. True, Ebola doesn't spread as easily as flu or measles - but it still spreads. And such a small measure of reassurance for the populace is not a bad move, politically.

I think this is a smart move by them, I do commend any Doctor or nurse who goes over there to treat people, but everyone's priority should be to protect the US. Tonight the nurse who was quarantined started showing fever, and was rushed to the hospital:

Link< br />

NEWARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork) — A health care worker who was quarantined at Newark Liberty International Airport after returning from treating Ebola patients in West Africa developed a fever and was being evaluated Friday night.
The woman was the first person quarantined under a new screening system announced earlier Friday by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

a reply to: soficrow

No man, it spreads more easily. It is HIGHLY contagious. It is even airborne in cold weather.

But yes, great news all around.

a reply to: tadaman

Hmmm. If it was HIGHLY contagious, it would be everywhere already. But it's not. So why do you say that? Where are you getting your info? ....puz.

a reply to: soficrow

WHO, CDC, UN, and the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases "USAMRIID". Thats who.

It is still largely unknown how many are actually infected. Not everyone is coming forward and the process of identifying who is infected is rather bureaucratic in some African nations, meaning who actually gets documented will depend on how many people can be treated that day. Its also full of social stigma to be labeled as infected so many dont come forward. Currently there are allot of mass graves we arent hearing about.

This isnt even secret. If you go to the websites of these health organizations with public information you will see this.

I heard people say west Africa has ZERO infections now. YET if you go to WHO websites where they show updates for the outbreak they show PLENTY of West African infections. There is more information management going on than crisis management by authorities. Especially the US federal government. In this case I feel sorry for these major health organizations that are being ignored.

Also, the nature of Ebola is worse than a flu since it can remain active in tiny droplets of moisture that are small enough to be carried in the air in cold weather. How long is not known exactly even by people who study Ebola exclusively.

We arent getting every incident made public in the US and Europe either. This has a 70% death rate, yet 70% of people supposedly infected in the US arent dead, so you decide whats really going on.

EDIT TO ADD:
This is what medical professionals are going crazy about. You need a high level bio suit to not get infected if treating infected people. Gloves and masks wont cut it because if your wrists are exposed, eyes what ever you CAN get infected. Hospitals had their bio suits removed in allot of places to avoid hysteria. Because seeing someone in one of them could be perceived as bad or something. You really need to just follow the guide lines that epidemiologists and that medical professionals have established or deal with more infections. We are still dealing with PR issues rather than real crisis management.

Have a good one.

a reply to: soficrow

I think is fantastic that one state is taking matters of dealing with ebola possible infections in a more direct way, than sending people home to take their temperatures.

Ebola is no a flu that can be taken care at home and if it gets bad then you go see the doctor.

Ebola without early treatment will and can kill the host.

a reply to: tadaman

I broke the Ebola story here on ATS back in March, and continued with it even though I was ridiculed for doing so. I've also been warning all along that West Africa does not have the health infrastructure to ID and report anywhere near all the cases. That said, Ebola has a relatively low reproductive rate, meaning it's not incredibly contagious. Yet. If it keeps spreading in human hosts, we cannot predict what new mutations might appear.

Sorry - but anyone who knows anything about disease in general and Ebola specifically, knows it's not highly contagious. Yet. The biggest danger in not stopping the epidemic in West Africa is that new mutations appear in every new human host - so the bigger the spread, the more hosts and more mutations. Check my profile from March onward for a huge range of Ebola threads - here are just 2 :

Ebola Mutating: Sustained H2H Transmission

Ebola 'could become airborne': United Nations warns

a reply to: soficrow

fair enough but look at this.

Transmission

It is thought that fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family are natural Ebola virus hosts. Ebola is introduced into the human population through close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected animals such as chimpanzees, gorillas, fruit bats, monkeys, forest antelope and porcupines found ill or dead or in the rainforest.

www.webmd.com...

Sweat, saliva or any other bodily fluid can infect with only contact to skin...It can be transmitted through the air through droplets of moisture as well.

The potential of aerogenic infection by Ebola virus was established by using a head-only exposure aerosol system. Virus-containing droplets of 0.8-1.2 microns were generated and administered into the respiratory tract of rhesus monkeys via inhalation. Inhalation of viral doses as low as 400 plaque-forming units of virus caused a rapidly fatal disease in 4-5 days

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov...

The reason it is sometimes said to not be very contagious is because infection can easily be averted by following basic containment procedures and safety standards.

Although Ebola virus (EBOV) is transmitted by unprotected physical contact with infected persons, few data exist on which specific bodily fluids are infected or on the risk of fomite transmission. Therefore, we tested various clinical specimens from 26 laboratory-confirmed cases of Ebola hemorrhagic fever, as well as environmental specimens collected from an isolation ward, for the presence of EBOV.

Virus was detected by culture and/or reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction in 16 of 54 clinical specimens (including saliva, stool, semen, breast milk, tears, nasal blood, and a skin swab) and in 2 of 33 environmental specimens.

We conclude that EBOV is shed in a wide variety of bodily fluids during the acute period of illness but that the risk of transmission from fomites in an isolation ward and from convalescent patients is low when currently recommended infection control guidelines for the viral hemorrhagic fevers are followed.

jid.oxfordjournals.org...


That is pretty damn infectious. Touching any bodily fluid with exposed skin can get you infected. TOUCHING. It goes through pores. It can be spread through the air since it survives long enough in moisture particles to infect someone from a cough from an infected person in the vicinity of a target host.

Everyone says that its actual threat level is low if basic guidelines and procedure is followed. You will find that distinction is always made by people who know what they are talking about. You need to make that distinction and in all honesty its good that is stressed. What if guide lines and procedures are not followed? Then it is HIGHLY infectious.

A person taking a subway is HIGHLY infectious. Someone in a contained environment with proper medical treatment is not.

EDIT TO ADD:
Here is this to help people understand. It can be both HIGHLY infectious but also hard to catch.

It’s a visible inconsistency that’s threatened to muddle public health messages about Ebola. For example, the White House has shifted into Ebola “crisis mode,” Reuters reported on Tuesday, even while stressing that other Americans should remain calm.

Here’s how to answer those questions, and understand the nuance behind why Ebola’s so scary — but not an imminent threat to most Americans.

With Enough Proximity, Ebola Can Be Contagious

The disease is disturbingly infectious in the sense that an Ebola patient is a significant risk: As the patient’s symptoms worsen, the patient can begin projectile vomiting and experiencing explosive diarrhea — and those fluids have the capability to infect others.

The dried virus can live on doorknobs and countertops for at least several hours, too.

So the reason for the full-body HAZMAT suits? Individuals who end up in close proximity with Ebola patients are at risk for contact with those patients’ fluids. And those suits can end up soiled with blood, vomit, and other substances, adding another layer of danger when people try to take them off, too.

“When you have potentially soiled or contaminated gloves or masks or other things, to remove those without any risk of any contaminated material … [it's] not easy to do right,” CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden said earlier this week.

Simply being breathed on doesn’t appear to infect anyone with Ebola, but droplets expelled by an Ebola patient — say, when the person sneezes — could theoretically transmit the disease.

www.forbes.com...

Being highly infectious doesnt mean it is not hard to catch. It is still HIGHLY INFECTIOUS.

I hope that cleared that up. have a good one.

a reply to: soficrow
I'm for anything that stamps out Ebola.
My eyes are giving me trouble tonight, and for a second I misread the quote:

"...we will consider any measures that we believe have the potential to make the American people suffer."
But the real word was 'safer.'"

a reply to: tadaman

I posted most of those references months and months ago - one of the most revealing background links was the Canadian Health Pathogen Safety Sheet on Ebola (it's now modified), which clarified that Ebola is transmissible by aerosol. fyi - aerosol transmission is not airborne transmission. And as you know, scientists distintinguish between infectious and contagious.

I realize that ATS and Americans like to foment panic, for profit, but that's not my thing. I just collect the information, analyze it responsibly and share what I've found.

Colloidal silver and other Ebola scams: 'Fear opens wallets and closes minds'
In a game of cat and mouse with health and safety officials, Americans profit off panic with modern versions of snake oil treatments, like vitamins branded ‘Ebola-C’

….Whenever there is a crisis, profiteering is rarely far behind. The attorney generals of several states – New York, North Carolina and Florida among them – have issued warnings about scams relating to the disease. “New Yorkers should beware of fundraising solicitations and offers of goods and services related to Ebola,” said New York’s attorney general Eric Schneiderman. “Scammers are shamefully exploiting this moment of heightened concern about public health to defraud good people.”

Todd Spinelli, a New Yorker, claims to have made $1.4m from a rebranded version of an ordinary vitamin C supplement. His product, “Ebola-C”, makes no claim to medical powers other than those that might be implicit in the name – but that hasn’t stopped Spinelli selling 45,000 units since having the idea at the beginning of October.

Spinelli told the Guardian that he was inspired by an episode of the TV health show Dr Oz, and that he’s planning to sell “Ebola-C shots” as an energy drink. ….

a reply to: marg6043

Yes, but we must remain vigilant. We've already lost enough of our rights and liberties to fear and panic.

Medical worker quarantined in New Jersey under new Ebola safeguards

....The prospect of expanding quarantines also raised questions about balancing the needs for safeguarding public health with protecting civil liberties, legal experts said.

"It's a severe restriction that the use of which should be very much guarded, that people should have a right to an attorney and some type of due process," said attorney Joel Kupferman, executive director of the New York Environmental Law and Justice Project. "When they quarantine someone, they should make sure that they are not treated as a criminal."

Kinda already one thread on this here: www.abovetopsecret.com...

In case you're interested in comments.

Here was one of mine...

Apparently Illinois too...so maybe O'Hare now too.

Quinn orders mandatory quarantine for those who touched Ebola patients

CHICAGO -- The Illinois Department of Public Health has announced a 21-day mandatory quarantine for those who've had direct contact with West Africa Ebola patients.
Illinois' action on Friday follows that of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The two issued a mandatory quarantine for travelers after a physician who returned to New York City a week ago from treating Ebola patients in Guinea fell ill with the virus. Dr. Craig Spencer rode the subway, took a cab, went bowling, visited a coffee shop and ate at a restaurant in the city after returning home.
Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn says the order is a "common sense step" to ensure residents will be protected from potential exposure to the virus.
The order will be implemented by local health departments across the state. Previously, these high-risk individuals were subject to a voluntary quarantine.
No Ebola cases have been reported in Illinois.s

ETA: Reportedly, the CDC is not happy about these states taking proactive steps. Go figure, eh?

Ebola Quarantines Seen as Barrier to Volunteers

All I have to say about this is...if they can spare three weeks to help Africans, they can spare another three weeks to help people in their own country stay safe. And maybe there's something they can do while in quarantine that can still be beneficial. Like publish their experiences or advise via Skype.

a reply to: drwill

Nothing will "stamp out" Ebola. imho. Isolation might help stop it from spreading, but mass quarantine won't do squat. Stopping the epidemic in West Africa gives us a chance - but that takes medical personnel, beds, tracking, test facilities and other really basic stuff that's not there yet.

a reply to: soficrow

This is encouraging-a complete travel ban on travellers from stricken WA countries would be better,or at least a quarantine period.This quarantine can be ordered as an ultimatum upon visa application back in WA.Then the individual's ID can be put on a high-risk alert list sent+automatically updated as time passes,to all airports and points of entry into America.Just so they cannot sneak in under the radar,and they can be held for mandatory quarantine,or refused entry if they have a problem with the quarantine they agreed to in the first place,back in WA.Just the way i would do it,if i was both running a country And had my citizens' best interests at heart.

a reply to: ~Lucidity

I'm not crowd-sourcing for story ideas or copy - I'm not a professional plying Ebola-fear for position, power or profit - don't need to ATS to feed my ego. Just broke the Ebola story 7 months ago because I thought it was extremely important (about 5 months before the hacks, power-mongers, fear-mongers and profiteers picked up on it).

I still think the Ebola epidemic is important. There are issues here that will affect our lives for generations to come - but no one will see them til they get past their fear and panic, clear their vision and get their heads in gear.

originally posted by: soficrow
a reply to: ~Lucidity

I'm not crowd-sourcing for story ideas or copy - I'm not a professional plying Ebola-fear for position, power or profit - don't need to ATS to feed my ego. Just broke the Ebola story 7 months ago because I thought it was extremely important (about 5 months before the hacks, power-mongers, fear-mongers and profiteers picked up on it).

I still think the Ebola epidemic is important. There are issues here that will affect our lives for generations to come - but no one will see them til they get past their fear and panic, clear their vision and get their heads in gear.

Huh? Dang. If you're not interested in additional comments on a topic, just say so.