Treating the Ebola victims at Emory

Fearmongers and a few weirdos like Donald Trump have sounded the alarm about bringing the two American health care workers home from Africa to treat their Ebola virus infection at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.   These uninformed alarmists are spreading misinformation about how risky this is, with visions of an epidemic outbreak in the U.S.

The Ebola virus does have a high mortality rate, at least in the poor treatment conditions in undeveloped countries;  but it is not particularly easy to transmit from one person to another.    First, patients are not infectious until after they begin to have symptoms -- which is different from most viral diseases.

Second, there is no an airborne risk;  it is spread through body fluids -- similar to the HIV virus, except that Ebola can be found in all body fluids, not just blood and semen, as in HIV.   

Third, Emory University Hospital has had a specially constructed isolation unit and a staff team trained to deal with such patients for the past 12 years.   The unit was actually part of a deal with the nearby CDC, with an agreement to treat CDC employees with untreatable diseases like SARS, Ebola, and anthrax.

Further, the staff were all eager for this opportunity.   They vied with each other as to who would get to ride in the specially prepared ambulance to pick the patients up at Dobbins Air Force Base.  Four Emory doctors and 15 nurses have volunteered to take care of the patients at Emory.   Two of the nursing staff even cancelled vacation plans. 

So, what is the discrepancy in understanding?    In Africa, with primitive medical treatment conditions, the mortality rate is said to be 60% or as high as 90%.   But, according to one of the Emory doctors, because we lack a cure at this point, the most important factor is first class medical supportive care to give the body time to build its own antibodies to the virus.   

Besides the humanitarian spirit of the Emory health care team, it is an opportunity for them to advance knowledge about new ways of helping sustain such patients through that time.

The other important factor in having the patients here at Emory is the proximity to the CDC to make the best use of its research facilities and hopefully to lead to a vaccine or anti-viral treatments some day.

The main point that people need to know is that those who will have most contact with these patients are the ones most eager to have them in this special unit at Emory University Hospital.

Latest word is that both patients are improving.

Ralph