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The first United States patient diagnosed with Ebola died Wednesday in a Dallas hospital. After returning from Liberia, Thomas Eric Duncan was admitted to the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital on Sept. 28 and diagnosed with the disease two days later. The death has raised questions for many Americans.
In a CBS article, Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Duncan was symptom-free when he got on the plane so no one on the plane is thought to be at risk. His symptoms started showing about five days after his arrival to the United States.
“[Ebola] is thought to be carried by animals such as fruit bats and is transmitted in people,” assistant professor for nursing, Kay Elder said. “There are a few symptoms, and you have to gain contact with blood or body fluids, blood, urine, vomit, those types of things in order for it to be transmitted from person to person.”
Contact with bodily fluids from an infected individual can be potentially harmful or deadly to another person.
“It’s not carried by air or water, it has to be personal bodily fluid contact,” Elder said.
Elder believes the doctors treating those with Ebola should be safe as long as they take precautions.
“It’s kind of an imported case, because [Duncan] traveled from West Africa,” Elder said. “…He’s not at risk for the healthcare workers, as long as they’ve used protection.”
Elder said that in her opinion, the United States has no need to worry about the disease spreading rapidly.
“The main opinion that our research indicates… says that we in the United States are not at risk for having an outbreak of this virus,” Elder said.
Elder said the difference between West Africa and the U.S. is the U.S. has better medicine, medical facilities and more doctors.
“Americans are typically healthy, well-fed and when they’re ill, receive treatment,” Elder said. “In Africa, low nourishment is very high and the availability of medical care is very low. Also their living situations are not like ours. So we have a lot of education to get the virus outbreak under control.”
Junior Deborah Swanson thinks people shouldn’t put too much worry in catching Ebola.
“A lot of people, I think, overreact about it,” Swanson said. “… It’s not spread like the common cold or the flu virus.”
While the disease isn’t contracted like many common illnesses, Ebola can be deadly to those infected.
“The viruses are really nasty because [Ebola is] not alive and you can’t kill something that’s not alive,” Swanson said. “It’s really sad and unfortunate and a really horrible disease to have. With my knowledge it’s not that easily spread, unless you’re coming in contact with bodily fluids that people don’t usually come in contact with on a regular basis. ”
Senior Jared Sterling said there is a high death rate for those who have Ebola.
“I know there’s a 70 percent chance of death rate,” Sterling said.
Sterling, like Swanson and Elder, said at this point in time there is no reason for people to panic.
“At this point I’d say no, due to the fact that [it’s] only spread through bodily fluids, that makes it a lot more containable since it’s not something that’s just picked up in the air,” Sterling said.
The symptoms in the early stage include fever and upset stomach. As it progresses the symptoms include bloody vomit and blood in the urine.
Duncan’s body will be cremated to avoid the risk of affecting others with the disease, which, according to the World Health Organization has taken the lives of 3,879 West Africans.
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