Nurse Pham, 26, is the second person to be identified with the Ebola virus in America. Pham became infected after treating Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person in America to die from Ebola. Pham received a plasma transfusion from Kent Brantly, a physician who survived the virus, and is now currently "clinically stable" at Texas Health Presbyterian hospital in Dallas.
Health officials are trying to find out how Pham became infected. While still undetermined, officials assume it was "a breach of protocol" on either Pham's part or the hospital's. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention is monitoring 48 potential contacts and hospital staffers who might have caught Ebola the same way Pham did.
Ebola has killed more than 4,000 patients, the majority of them from West African nations. The World Health Organization is calling the outbreak "the most severe, acute health emergency seen in modern times." The United States has increased its efforts to keep infected people out of the country, inducting enhanced screenings for people from West Africa at major airports.
It's frightening having this virus appear so close to home. With this second appearance, I fear that the Ebola virus can and will spread throughout Dallas, and aide in causing a worldwide epidemic. When other diseases have appeared throughout history, fear spreads as quickly, if not quicker than, the disease itself: the Bubonic Plague of Europe, for example, or the Swine Flu of a few years back. I think above all the general public needs to be educated and wary of their health. People need to watch for symptoms of Ebola, like having a high fever.
Hopefully now that the virus is found in America, our doctors and scientists will be more motivated to find a cure or vaccine as soon as possible; hopefully we can send over medical supplies to West Africa to help bring their population back to proper health as well.
Source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/10/13/ebola-nurse-who/17182599/
I'm afraid too, but I also feel very sorry for Doctor Pham. She must be facing total social rejection and I hope she's not thinking she's going to die.
ReplyDeleteWell while I feel bad as well I think that we should have hope because America does have some of the best healthcare professionals in the world who are hard at work.
ReplyDeleteI am becoming more afraid as the number of people who have Ebola begins to rise. I hope something can be found or done that can help stop this disease.
ReplyDeleteIt's very scary when the people solely responsible for containing the harmful disease end up contracting it. I understand that very minor exposure to the disease can lead to infection, but you'd think there would be stricter protocols for such a disease.
ReplyDeleteIf we are to fight to find something positive amidst this disease, we can recognize that it has made many more aware of the intense outbreak in West Africa. It has become real, and for some of us, personal. There is something happening. We need to help those in West Africa for they simply do not have the medical ability to contain the spread of ebola.
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