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Oh boy!


Chopped Liver

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A friend of mine just received a dx -malignant melanoma. He showed me the spot on his shoulder. It's about the size of a silver dollar and he has a second one on his back.

Long story short, something will eventually take all of us out.

That sux!

I will add your friend to the prayer list.

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I designed the electrical systems for a laboratory that handled contagious and infectious diseases.  There are standards and guidelines for building places that handle dangerous viruses and bacteria.  They do work.

 

Even so, I don't see how the isolation ward could be 'virtually airtight'.  First of all, the people need to breathe meaning air must be exchanged or CO2 must be scrubbed out.  Either way some air exchange must take place or the people will suffocate.

 

Second, to help contain the bacteria or virus the isolation ward must be at a lower air pressure than the surrounding areas.  In other words, any air that does flow should flow into the isolation ward.  This keeps contaminated air from flowing out to less secure areas.  Once in the isolation ward, the air is contained in an air handling system until it is treated to remove the contagion by the systems set up to clean the air by filters or UV light.

 

So any isolation can't be airtight to keep people alive and to keep containment.

 

That said, roadsue has a point.  Nothing is perfect.  Part of the electrical design was a battery backup system that kept pressure control fans running during a power outage until the generator started.  But if the generator failed to start...

 

And there has to be some sort of system to handle bodily wastes from these people.  While I'd bet they don't have a toilet connected directly to city sewer system, that waste has to go somewhere.

 

I read a news report that said the people undertaking this effort had been training for years for just this sort of thing - but hadn't had an outbreak that warranted using the facility and the staff.  My guess is someone high on the food chain was getting tired of training, training, training and decided to put these isolation areas to the test.

 

Let's hope they get it right.

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Can't we just let ebola fester in the undesirable parts of the globe?

 

Which parts of the world are undesirable? There are people living in the Arctic, hot deserts, jungles, temperate prairies, mountain areas, coastal regions and plenty of other parts of the world. None of them would see their lands as undesirable. And none of them wish to host Ebola.

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Which parts of the world are undesirable? There are people living in the Arctic, hot deserts, jungles, temperate prairies, mountain areas, coastal regions and plenty of other parts of the world. None of them would see their lands as undesirable. And none of them wish to host Ebola.

Basically, any part that is not the US or Caribbean I would call undesirable.   I guess we could include parts of the Alps, Pyrenees, and France as well but only in July.

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I designed the electrical systems for a laboratory that handled contagious and infectious diseases.  There are standards and guidelines for building places that handle dangerous viruses and bacteria.  They do work.
 
Even so, I don't see how the isolation ward could be 'virtually airtight'.  First of all, the people need to breathe meaning air must be exchanged or CO2 must be scrubbed out.  Either way some air exchange must take place or the people will suffocate.
 
Second, to help contain the bacteria or virus the isolation ward must be at a lower air pressure than the surrounding areas.  In other words, any air that does flow should flow into the isolation ward.  This keeps contaminated air from flowing out to less secure areas.  Once in the isolation ward, the air is contained in an air handling system until it is treated to remove the contagion by the systems set up to clean the air by filters or UV light.
 
So any isolation can't be airtight to keep people alive and to keep containment.
 
That said, roadsue has a point.  Nothing is perfect.  Part of the electrical design was a battery backup system that kept pressure control fans running during a power outage until the generator started.  But if the generator failed to start...
 
And there has to be some sort of system to handle bodily wastes from these people.  While I'd bet they don't have a toilet connected directly to city sewer system, that waste has to go somewhere.
 
I read a news report that said the people undertaking this effort had been training for years for just this sort of thing - but hadn't had an outbreak that warranted using the facility and the staff.  My guess is someone high on the food chain was getting tired of training, training, training and decided to put these isolation areas to the test.
 
Let's hope they get it right.


I've built these Iso wards and I've worked in BSL3 labs. The waste products from the units are incinerated. The air exchanges are bio filtered. The exhaust air, which is what maintains the negative pressure in the room is also bio filtered.
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I am sorry that this cat got the ebola.  I applaud his efforts help others.  I still think that this is a very bad idea.

 

I somewhat agree, but OTH, maybe these people in Atlanta will learn a lot about the virus and will make some positive contribution for future containment and treatment of the disease.   :)

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"The isolation ward is virtually airtight..." 

 

Viruses are slippery little cusses.  I predict an outside case within two weeks. 

The CDC has had several live virus here in ATL near Emory that require level 4 containment.  Marburg virus comes to mind immediately.  And for all practical purposes, Marburg might as well be Ebola, though I thank the mortality rate is about 50% instead of 80%

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Basically, any part that is not the US or Caribbean I would call undesirable.   I guess we could include parts of the Alps, Pyrenees, and France as well but only in July.

 

Well, Africa is pretty much a hell-hole already, we should just leave it there.  I like the animals, though, they seem pretty cool.

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I heard on the news today that the first ebola patient seems to be responding positively to some sort of experimental serum that they are giving him.  This is the kind of results that could make the whole thing (bringing the patients here) worth the effort and risk.  

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"people got ebola from the animals"

 

From the bushmeat, specifically.  Although there are laws prohibiting bushmeat sales, the increase of roadways into the bush have unintentionally paved the way for bush hunters to hunt more efficiently. And there's money to be made through the sale of protein.

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The lymphatic system captures contagions and removes them from the body via fluids.  Two weeks is a generous estimate.  Someone will have interacted with this guy's blood, spittle, or vomit before then. 

 

Or semen, you can't forget that, some people spread that stuff everywhere!

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