Disaster Response

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OUT OF CONTROL: How the world’s health organizations failed to stop the Ebola Disaster

Sun, 2014-10-05 12:16 — mike kraft

WASHINGTON POST's detailed front page account of how the Ebola epidemic got out of control in West Africa. Oct. 5, 2014

by Lena Sun, Bradly Dennis, Lenny Bernstein and Joel Achenbach

The glow from a crematorium lights the sky as the bodies of people who died from Ebola are cremated last month in Monrovia

---Michel Du Cille, THE WASHINGTON POST

.... "The virus easily outran the plodding response. The WHO, an arm of the United Nations, is responsible for coordinating international action in a crisis like this, but it has suffered budget cuts, has lost many of its brightest minds and was slow to sound a global alarm on Ebola. Not until Aug. 8, 4 1 ⁄ 2 months into the epidemic, did the organization declare a global emergency. Its Africa office, which oversees the region, initially did not welcome a robust role by the CDC in the response to the outbreak.

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Ebola Victim's Air Journey shows weak spots in screening.

Sat, 2014-10-04 17:00 — mike kraft

NEW YORK TIMES October 3, 2014

MONROVIA, Liberia — The arrival in the United States of a Liberian man infected with the Ebola virus shows how difficult it is to control or restrict the disease from spreading, and how porous current procedures are in a world of globalized air travel.

Liberian officials said on Thursday that they planned to prosecute the passenger, Thomas E. Duncan, for lying on an airport questionnaire about not having contact with a person infected with Ebola before his travel — a pivotal part of the country’s screening process.

Mr. Duncan took three planes as he flew from Monrovia, the Liberian capital, to Dallas last month, connecting in Brussels and Washington.

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Source: http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/national-international/Texas-Hospital-Software-Blame-Ebola-Patients-Misdiagnosis-277988141.html#ixzz3F5cyR89B

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Dallas Hospital says software flaw led to initial release of Ebola patent

Fri, 2014-10-03 09:58 — mike kraft

Update with additional information and text of the hospital statement (scroll down).

5 NBC News Chicago

Oct 3, 2014 • Updated at 7:53 AM CDT

The Dallas Hospital that sent Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan home said a software flaw, and not human error, caused doctors to miss the diagnosis, NBC News is reporting.

The electronic health records (EHR) system that the hospital uses has a separate workflow for physicians and nurses. The travel history of the patient was located in the nursing portion of the workflow within the EHR, but not in the physician's workflow.

“As result of this discovery, Texas Health Dallas has relocated the travel history documentation to a portion of the EHR that is part of both workflows," the hospital said.

Link to story

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http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ebola-virus-outbreak/nbc-news-freelancer-africa-diagnosed-ebola-n217271

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NBC Cameraman stricken with Ebola in Liberia, being flown home

Thu, 2014-10-02 20:59 — mike kraft

NBC NEWS October 2, 2014

An American freelance cameraman working for NBC News in Liberia has tested positive for Ebola and will be flown back to the United States for treatment.

...

The freelancer came down with symptoms on Wednesday, feeling tired and achy. As part of a routine temperature check, he discovered he was running a slight fever. He immediately quarantined himself and sought medical advice. On Thursday morning, the 33 year-old American went to a Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) treatment center to be tested for the virus. The positive result came back just under 12 hours later.

The cameraman, who also is a writer, is the fourth American to have contracted Ebola in Liberia. He has been working in Liberia on various projects for the past three years. NBC News is withholding the cameraman’s name at the request of his family.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/02/us-health-ebola-waste-idUSKCN0HR07T20141002

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USG expected to announce within days procedures for handling Ebola patents' medical waste

Thu, 2014-10-02 19:55 — mike kraft

October 2, 2014

Reuters reports that the U.S.Government expects to settle within days the critical question of how hospitals should handle and dispose of medical waste from Ebola patients.

Experts have warned that conflicting U.S. regulations over how such waste should be transported could make it very difficult for U.S. hospitals to safely care for patients with Ebola, a messy disease that causes diarrhea, vomiting and in some cases, bleeding from the eyes and ears.

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Contagion

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Man in U.S. With Ebola Had Been Screened to Fly, but System Is Spotty

Thu, 2014-10-02 10:51 — mike kraft

NEW YORK TIMES Oct. 2, 2014

By Matthew J. Wald and Jad Mouawad

As he was preparing to leave Liberia for Dallas two weeks ago, Thomas E. Duncan, the man confirmed to be the first Ebola case in the United States, was checked at the airport for signs of the disease. He was determined to have no fever and allowed to board his flight, American officials say.

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Scrutiny in Texas to Detect Whether Ebola Spread

Thu, 2014-10-02 09:32 — mike kraft

UPDATE

Officials: ‘About 100′ people may have had contact with the Texas Ebola patient

WASHINGTON POST OCTOBER 2, 2014 10:03 AM

Texas health officials said Thursday that there are "about 100" people who may have had contact with Thomas Eric Duncan, the man who is being treated in a Dallas-area hospital for Ebola.

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Beyond the Immediate Tragedy: Ebola’s Long-Term Implications

Wed, 2014-10-01 19:49 — mike kraft

THE ATLANTIC COUNCIL October 1, 2014

By J. Peter Pham

....beyond the immediate tragedy, there are significant short, medium, and long-term impacts that we are not even beginning to address.

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Information Relay Failure Admitted In Texas Ebola Victim Case

Wed, 2014-10-01 16:25 — mike kraft

A patient was diagnosed with Ebola on Sept. 30 at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas.(Photo: Mike Stone, Getty Images)

THE WASHINGTON POST

By Mark Berman October 1 at 3:15 PM

The man in Texas who tested positive for Ebola told hospital officials he had traveled from West Africa when he sought treatment on Friday, but that information was not relayed to everyone treating him at that time, authorities said Wednesday.

As a result, the man was diagnosed with a “low-grade, common viral disease” and sent home that day, said Mark C. Lester, executive vice president of the health-care system that includes Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, the Dallas facility treating the Ebola patient.

“Regretfully, that information was not fully communicated throughout the full team,” Lester said during a news conference Wednesday. “As a result, the full import of that information wasn’t factored into the clinical decision-making.”

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