Steve Mensing, Editor
♦ Let’s look at the risk of an Ebola epidemic occurring in the United States. It depends on what health experts you follow. There’s some who say the probability of an Ebola outbreak is fairly low and there are other physicians and health experts who believe the probability is fairly substantial. In any event Federal, state, local agencies, area hospitals and clinics are putting their ducks in a row as best they can should an epidemic strike Rowan County and Salisbury, N.C.
If someone looks at the broader picture of Ebola entering the United States from West Africa and the fact that several of our states are already reporting isolated cases, they might consider these factors raising the probability of a U.S. Ebola epidemic:
• It is relatively easy for an individual to enter the United States and camouflage a fever with Motrin, not show symptoms yet, be in denial over their symptoms, or may not report it for whatever reason. If someone is facing a life threatening disease they may want to travel to a place where they can find excellent medical care. Europe and the United States fit that description. So the seeds of Ebola will arrive and in some cases go undetected. With a disease like Ebola a tiny few can spread it to many.
• Overly confident healthcare experts may be missing the challenges of a potential plague receiving limited research to date outside of its African habitat. The unanswered question: Can our healthcare systems in the United States contain a full scale epidemic especially with so many persons without any healthcare, persons who ignore or deny symptoms, and those who would avoid limited treatment even if it was available? For a moment consider how many persons avoid yearly flu shots or fail to take prescribed medications. There are folks out there who will become “sitting targets” if an Ebola epidemic strikes the United States full tilt.
• What if Ebola hits the extreme incubator capabilities of a poor urban neighborhood–it could go everywhere and fast. Think of all those major cities with multitudes of urban poor and little access to decent healthcare. We’ve already seen the rates of HIV and STDs among the urban poor. The spread of Ebola, in such circumstances, could go unchecked. One human being with Ebola could seed a widespread epidemic.
• The U.S. is a potential victim waiting to happen without vaccines and anti-virals to treat something the World Health Organization says kills between 60 to 70% of its victims. It’s said a medicine may be in the pipeline next year. How fast can it go in large scale production?
• If Ebola landed in the Rowan and Salisbury communities, how long would it be before our hospitals and clinics were overwhelmed? Salisbury and Rowan County has a large share of poor and those who lack healthcare.
• Passage into the United States from “hot zone” countries in West Africa is problematic. Folks, who acquired Ebola, have arrived here already and passed the disease. Is it wise to permit flights from “hot zone” countries at this time?
The Center for Disease Control’s website for Ebola:
According to the Center for Disease Control these are the accepted symptoms of Ebola:
• A fever higher than 101.5 degrees.
• A severe headache, muscle pain, weakness, stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea and unexplained bleeding or bruising.
Novant Health specified three regional medical centers for Ebola treatment: Forsyth Medical Center in Winston-Salem, Presbyterian Medical Center in Charlotte and Prince William Medical Center in Virginia. Patients demonstrating Ebola symptoms at any of Novant’s area hospitals and a positive test for the disease at Rowan Medical Center, will be transported to either Forsyth Medical Center in Winston-Salem or Presbyterian Medical Center in Charlotte. Ebola patients would be treated in special isolation wards at those hospitals.
The Ebola Hotline is 1-800-222-1222, and callers should press 6 for questions about Ebola.
Novant Health has a phone number for answering questions about Ebola: 1-855-251-8808.
