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Nigeria Man Tested For Ebola In Hong Kong; Would Be First Case Of The Disease In Asia
With increasingly more cases - for now, largely isolated - of suspicious Ebola infections reported out of Africa and around the globe, it was only a matter of time before one of the world's most densely populated megapolises at 17,024 people per square mile, Hong Kong, raised the alarm as well. Which it did moments ago when Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection said on Sunday that a man from Nigeria is being tested for the deadly Ebola virus at Princess Margaret Hospital. If confirmed, it will be the first case of the disease in Asia.
From Xinhua:
The 31-year-old who had been vomiting and suffering from diarrhea -- both symptoms of the disease -- arrived in Hong Kong on Thursday.
He was sent to the hospital from ChungKing Mansions where he had been staying at a guesthouse.
More than 900 people have died in the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. The World Health Organization has described the outbreak as a global emergency and the worst in four decades.
Hong Kong's RTHK adds, that the 31-year-old Nigerian man showed symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea after arriving in Hong Kong on Aug. 7. He was sent to Queen Elizabeth Hospital from ChungKing Mansions in Hong Kong’s Kowloon area, before being transferred to Princess Margaret Hospital.
And from the ground:
Ebola test chaos: Possible media confusion over negative MERS case reported by Hong Kong CHP this morning, & ongoing Ebola testing tonight?
— Ivan Broadhead (@ivanbroadhead) August 10, 2014
The result of his blood test is expected in several hours, although one would wonder what is more important in this case: avoiding a wholesale panic (see Fukushima) or releasing the ever so slightly non-GAAP truth.
Meanwhile in the UK, border staff threaten to strike over risk of deadly Ebola entering the UK reports the Daily Star:
Border Force staff at London’s Heathrow and Gatwick airports are furious no measures have been put in place to preserve their health.
An insider told the Daily Star Sunday: “There is panic. It takes one person to come into this country with Ebola and all hell will break loose.
“Workers are being told to look for passengers who appear unwell and to raise the alarm immediately. But given how dangerous it seems to be, that doesn’t seem enough.
“People are scared and you can’t blame them. Many aren’t confident we are going to be kept safe and this has led to strike talk among some staff.”
Perhaps it is not too late to let TEPCO management deal with the Ebola epidemic considering their bang up job with Fukushima, or rather the cover-up effort, not anything else per se.
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Actually, the Romanian case was not "proven" negative yet. They aren't even going to send samples to Germany for running an Ebola test. They say the patient has a pre-existing medical condition, combined with some tropical disease while he was working in Nigeria (in capital Abuja). But it's not Ebola! Can they be so sure without running a blood test?
I can only speak for Romania. There is 1 suspected case, with doctors swiftly jumping to "it's not ebola". Funny thing is Romania does not have the capability to test for Ebola, nor do we have BSL-4 facilities. I wrote more about this suspected case here: http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread1026489/pg1
tldr: doctor: "we're 99% sure it's not ebola, even though we have no labs that could run Ebola tests". Yup I can go back to sleep now...
Funny how it's being said that these are "isolated cases"
Really? How do they contract it then? Spread over various countries and even continents?
Ebola: The new Terrorist threat.
It is a perfect social control tool. People are afraid, will dutifly be in fear of every new "suspected" case and people naturally get sick all the time and tend to assume the worst.
War on Ebola in 3..2..1..
Chinese Ebola doctors to leave for Africa
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2014-08/10/c_133546150.htm
BEIJING, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese disease control experts will leave for three West African nations affected by Ebola on Sunday evening and Monday, the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) said on Sunday.
The NHFPC announced on Saturday that China will send three expert teams and medical supplies to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone to assist the prevention and control of the Ebola virus.
China dispatched emergency humanitarian aid supplies from Shanghai to West African nations hit by Ebola on Sunday.
The relief is expected to arrive on Monday or Tuesday after it left Shanghai at 3 p.m., Ministry of Commerce (MOC) spokesman Sun Jiwen said.
Each medical team will be composed of one epidemiologist and two specialists in disinfection and protection from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC) and other institutions.
Chinese experts will help train local medical workers and assist Chinese embassies in these countries to distribute medical supplies, said Sun Hui, a member of the medical teams.
They will also help Chinese nationals in those countries to strengthen disease prevention and control, he said.
Three Chinese medical teams are already working in the three African nations. The new experts will also train their staff and work with them to help local doctors, Sun said.
This will be the first time that China has offered assistance to foreign countries in response to a public health emergency.
Probably given one way tickets.
May good luck and the force be with them.
Teams of doctors all over the world getting in on this. Makes good sense, they need the help, our self interests are all served by lots of cultures and minds working on this problem.
Fukushima, teams of who getting together to work on a world threat together??? Why not?
Laurie Garrett is an writer of several interesting and informative books including "The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases In A World Out Of Balance" and "Betrayal of Trust: The Collapse of Global Public Health". She's writes insightful and up-to-date articles and is on twitter, if you're there.
This is an excerpt from an article published today that she wrote about the status of WHO and how it is responding to matters on the ground in West Africa:
"On Friday we received an email plea from Emmet Dennis, president of the University of Liberia whose medical school is handling the lion's share of care in Monrovia. His list of urgent needs is so basic as to leave us wondering what his healthcare workers actually have to work with. He needs gowns, gloves, face masks, disinfectant, body bags... the list goes on, featuring nothing more exotic or hi-tech than an infra-red thermometer."
http://www.express.co.uk/comment/expresscomment/497609/World-unite-fight...
This gives a better idea of how healthcare workers might have gotten infected: Not enough supplies, lots of bodily fluids to go around, long shifts w/fatigue and yeah, mistakes happen. A metal corner of a bed tears a hole in a suit. A needle pricks a glove. Workers re-use gloves and needles because they have limited supplies.
And in another direction: I wonder if we really did see Ebola here, how would American healthcare workers respond? Sure, a case or two, fine. But I suspect we'd see fewer showing up for their shifts as the patient count grows - both the sick and the scared.
Consumables get consumed, and they're consumed even faster when more people are seeking medical attention and more workers are being outfitted with those consumables.
If they were asking for fancy equipment I would disregard the request faster than a Nigerian investment solicitation. The problem is that too much of the pledged western "aid" is longer term finance and capacity building/nice-to-haves, and not enough of it is immediate airloads of critical consumables for distribution and use.
Here's the link to the suspected case in Romania. Article is in French - But it is a Nigerian male with "diarrhée sanglante," i.e., bleeding out the ass.
The man has been in Romania since July 25.
http://www.lefigaro.fr/international/2014/08/09/01003-20140809ARTFIG0013...
Patient tested negative.
http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/08/10/us-health-ebola-romania-idINKBN...
So did Brantford Ontario suspect case:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ebola-test-negative-for-brampton-o...
Now back to my Honey Boo Boo show, but my TV color must be acting up, she's looking a bit red in the eyes....
They all test negative. When your fucking neighbor vomits blood outside of your house you should see your first "positive test".
No country is going to start a panic on their own by admitting Ebola is running loose in their country. I agree - this is going to almost require a 'leak' before anyone actually admits it.
You can't be complacent with this and I would expect hospital staff are a bit nervous about it. There are many other viral diseases that could initially be mistaken.
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/healthlibrary/conditions/travel_medicine/...
Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers What are viral hemorrhagic fevers?Viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHF) is a term that refers to a group of illnesses caused by several distinct families of viruses. While some types of hemorrhagic fever viruses cause illnesses that are relatively mild, many of these cause severe, life-threatening diseases with no known cures. Perhaps the most well-known of this group of diseases is the Ebola virus, made famous by the movie Outbreak.
Hemorrhagic fever viruses are caused by viruses of four distinct families:
Arenaviruses
Filoviruses
Bunyaviruses
Flaviviruses
These viruses share the following common features:
The viruses are geographically restricted to the areas where the host species live.
Their survival depends on an animal or insect host, called the natural reservoir.
Humans are not the natural reservoir for any of these viruses; they only become infected when coming into contact with an infected host. However, with some of these viruses, humans can transmit the virus to one another after the accidental transmission from the host.
They are all ribonucleic acid (RNA) viruses, covered in a fatty (lipid) coating.
With a few exceptions, there is no known cure or drug treatment for these diseases.
Human outbreaks or cases of these diseases occur sporadically and irregularly, making outbreaks difficult to predict.......
So, if the Nigerian Romanian didn't have ebola then what did he have. Why don't they report what is causing his symptoms as part of their denials. Would seem a more plausable denial. I want nothing that will give me "diarrhée sanglante" .
A condom filled with drugs that broke. (sarc)... They probably tested for Ebola first and will confirm (or already have) the diagnosis. In most countries patient medical information is private and it's illegal to disclose it without the patients permission.
Yup, that's exactly what happens in Romania, they can't disclose medical info without approval from patient/family. They're saying he had a preexisting medical condition that mixed with some "tropical disease" he acquired while working in Nigeria. I have no idea on how they can be so sure it's not Ebola; Romania can't run Ebola tests, samples must be sent to Germany. And they don't intend to send samples. Also, we don't have any BSL-4 facilities here. You do the math.
Romanian engineer that came back home after months working in Nigeria. Not "a Nigerian male". Not that it matters, tho...
Side note: there are ZERO direct Nigeria-Romania flight connections, so the possibly infected guy probably went through an European hub on his way home. I'm thinking Charles de Gaulle Paris airport.
Negue, you are correct. I read the article too quickly the first time - it appears that it is a Romanian that returned from Nigeria on July 25.
Yikes. Rooms for $16 USD per day that are smaller than your closet - no, really. You know that scene in the opening of Avatar where Jake Sully is taking off his shoes and watching cloned tigers at the Beijing Zoo on TV on a wall-sized panel tuned to channel 358,732?
That is exactly what a room at CKM looks like, only it is SMALLER and has a 1985-era 13inch CRT old fashioned tube TV.
You have to sleep in one of those dumps one night to say you have done it. What a dive.
The bathrooms are so small, that when you sit on the commode your knees touch the door AND the sink at the same time and you cannot lean forward or your face will hit the sink; when you shower you are straddling the commode. 2ft by 3ft bathrooms.
The beds are singles, the TV is on a stand over the edge of the bed, the window is behind you where your pillow is, and you can reach out with your arm and touch both walls whilst laying on the bed. 6 foot by 8 foot coffins.
So you would assume correctly that any virus that got a foothold in that place, would spread throughout HK and China in no time at all...
..oh well. Not much to be done about it now.
Patient Zero possibly found:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/10/world/africa/tracing-ebolas-breakout-t...
Countdown to the first US patient to NOT have any connection to Western Africa and to be diagnosed with (wild) Ebola, in...
10....9....8....
Interesting info should things get worse
http://thebookgallery2014.blogspot.com/2014/08/beyond-ebola-preparation....
Great, the "free copy" of the book is a self-extracting .exe file.
You seem to like viruses.