The following are excerpts from an article on Bloomberg.com and reflect other stories we are hearing.
… “The initial response of authorities has been to blame the nurse, that they made a mistake in the donning and doffing of equipment or made some mistake in the protocol” she said. “But it’s also possible that the guidelines aren’t adequate.”…
… Surgical masks may also be inadequate, and respirators that provide more protection should also be considered, she said….
“There’s no cure for Ebola, which jumps to humans from animals such as fruit bats and chimpanzees. The virus spreads from contact with bodily fluids such as blood, vomit and feces. Burial practices in West Africa, where mourners come in contact with corpses, have fueled the spread.”
As a non-expert, I’m confused. Can somebody explain what surgical masks and respirators have to do with protecting one from a virus that is spread from contact with bodily fluids? To the layman this appears inconsistent. One is physical contact and the other relates to airborne virus.
What am I missing CDC?
QUINNSCOMMENTARY 
For infection with something spread by bodily fluids those infective fluids need to “get inside,” contact with intact skin does not result in transmission of disease. Masks and respirators act as physical barriers covering the mouth and nose and their exposed mucous membranes, which are a number one place that viruses can pass through to infect you. This is also how they work to prevent respiratory infection even, they prevent what’s floating in the air from making contact in the places where the virus can enter the body. Masks aren’t waterproof so when there’s a lot fluids, like with Ebola, and they get wet they’re no longer an effective barrier. Masks are also “leaky” letting air in around the edges. A respirator has an impervious plastic shield built into it and a lot tighter seal to prevent “leaks” so is a much more effective barrier.
RE: Doug’s sneeze example it depends greatly on the virus in question. A cold virus, being a respiratory infection, will have lots of virus present in a sneeze and the cold virus can remain infective for a long time on a dry surface. Other viruses, for example HIV, will have little to no virus present in a sneeze and becomes non-infective very quickly when outside the body. There will probably be more cases Ebola transmission, but it’s the healthcare workers dealing with the patients who are at risk not the rest of us.
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Doug and Dick:
News reports have the people who treated the Liberian, who lied to get into the country knowing full well he may have been exposed to Ebola, without protective clothing for two days until the test came back (after the second visit and admission to the hospital) positive for Ebola.
The exposure from Ebola that we’re faced with now comes from the Liberian not the do gooders. Allthough I agree with Doug they knew the risks and when you gamble you play the hand your dealt where you are dealt it. Life shouldn’t grant do-overs when you choose a certain path.
Supposedly the Liberian had projectile vomiting and “explosive diarrhea”. The sheets, towels, etc., that he was contaminating with that and other “things” supposedly filled a room from floor to ceiling in the hospital.
I believe if you isolate the cases (open up a FEMA Camp and hold any all exposed for 60 days anyone? Buehler? Buehler?)and the ones that develop it can then be treated with the proper protocols.
The second nurse that came down with Ebola was, I read, of the same ethnic background as the Liberian and when she wants to go to Cleebland she bees goin’ to Cleebland even though she was put on her honor to avoid contact with people for at least three weeks and agreed to do so. If Ebola spreads now it’s because society has elevated a certain group and filled them with the idea that they are special and not really subject to any rules or protocols. Just tell “The Man” what he wants to hear and then goes and doos what you want.
You even had the chief medical reporter for, I think, NBC who was in Liberia and exposed to her cameraman who is being treated for Ebola break “on your honor” quarantine to go out and go to a store to get her “favorite soup”
Obviously you can’t trust people to keep their word so mandatory isolation under custody seems the way to go.
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Then we have the Dallas health worker who treated the Ebloa patient and was allowed on a plane a few days later. How stupid is that? You would think those workers would be restricted from public travel until it was certain they were not infected.
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One of the reasons we are all confused is that the so called experts are not telling us the truth. They say that it is not contracted by airborne but what happens when someone sneezes. It becomes airborne and lands on surfaces. Secondly, the CDC gives out information that is not true. I believe trying to stop hysteria. I don’t think anyone knows anything concrete about this deadly outbreak. The biggest mistake initially was bringing these infected patients back to the US for treatment. They should have remained quarintined and treated in Africa. When these do gooders went to Africa to help they knew the risks. Then we have these people that lie to authorities coming from Africa trying to get to the US about their exposure to Ebola. That is a major problem. Do the US authorities think they are going to get the truth from someone who is deperate to get to the US. We are in for a major spread of this disease unless we begin to get the truth from medical authorities and initiate major restrictions. Again leadership is lacking in the US.
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