Posted on Oct 17, 2014
How easy is it to "self quarantine" if you think you may have been exposed to Ebola?
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So I'm flipping through military news and see that a Marine who flew with Ebola Nurse 2 has voluntarily quarantined himself for 21 days to ensure he doesn't show signs of the disease. A school that a relative child attends has sent out notice that there may have been contact from the Marine to the child to give parents a heads up that they are monitoring the situation.
So....just how easy would it be to quarantine yourself? This guy is a reservist, but what if he were active duty? Would the clinic give you a quarters slip for 3 weeks? I'm wondering now if any of our Active Duty hospitals have protocols in place for a potential exposure. If I go down to Fort Belvoir and say I flew with a known Ebola patient and sat next to them on the plane, what would they do?
The Chief of Staff for Public Affairs in the Marine's area praised him by saying that he did the right thing in identifying himself and then choosing to self quarantine. If this is the "right thing" to do, there should be hundreds of people from all over doing the same.
What would you do?
http://www.armytimes.com/article/20141016/NEWS/310160054/Marine-under-voluntary-Ebola-quarantine
So....just how easy would it be to quarantine yourself? This guy is a reservist, but what if he were active duty? Would the clinic give you a quarters slip for 3 weeks? I'm wondering now if any of our Active Duty hospitals have protocols in place for a potential exposure. If I go down to Fort Belvoir and say I flew with a known Ebola patient and sat next to them on the plane, what would they do?
The Chief of Staff for Public Affairs in the Marine's area praised him by saying that he did the right thing in identifying himself and then choosing to self quarantine. If this is the "right thing" to do, there should be hundreds of people from all over doing the same.
What would you do?
http://www.armytimes.com/article/20141016/NEWS/310160054/Marine-under-voluntary-Ebola-quarantine
Medical
Leadership
Reserves
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 7
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You mean self quarantine like DR Nancy Snyderman? This is doctor, who was in the hot-zone, had contact with a known Ebola vicitim and went for care out at a local Maryland resturant...of course she waited in the car while her crew...who had the same exposure...went in for the food.
We have football players and entertainers losing their livelihood for saying or tweeting the wrong words, what is being done to a doctor who is breaking quarantine and risking peoples lives...oh that is right nothing because this Nation has lost its collective mind.
We have football players and entertainers losing their livelihood for saying or tweeting the wrong words, what is being done to a doctor who is breaking quarantine and risking peoples lives...oh that is right nothing because this Nation has lost its collective mind.
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1SG Chris Brown
As long as it remains "voluntary" we won't stop this from happening. Why even bother to say you're quaranteening yourself if you still intend to run out and have contact with other people like this? You might as well just say you're self monitoring and continue on with your life if you're going to disregard the protocols anyway.
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MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca
She's a F--king Moron. In my book she has lost all credibility as a doctor and correspondant for that stunt. She shouldn't be allowed to prescribe a cough drop She needs to be shown the door at 30 Rock.
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Well, SFC (Join to see) and 1SG Chris Brown, I think that depends. There was a healthcare worker (doctor ?) who returned from Africa a month or two ago and quarantined himself, took his temperature, watched for symptoms, etc., for 21 days. I think that is the right thing to do if you think you may have been exposed to Ebola.
The question really is the definition of "exposed." In the general vicinity of someone with Ebola - at least according to the CDC - does not equal exposed (for transmission purposes). The word is that you have to come into contact with the body fluids of an infected and symptomatic Ebola patient to be at risk for infection yourself. If the Marine was in that position, or possibly in that position, then good on him.
I wonder if the CDC will revise its guidance regarding transmission of Ebola if more Americans (in the U.S.) get infected.
The question really is the definition of "exposed." In the general vicinity of someone with Ebola - at least according to the CDC - does not equal exposed (for transmission purposes). The word is that you have to come into contact with the body fluids of an infected and symptomatic Ebola patient to be at risk for infection yourself. If the Marine was in that position, or possibly in that position, then good on him.
I wonder if the CDC will revise its guidance regarding transmission of Ebola if more Americans (in the U.S.) get infected.
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SFC (Join to see)
CW5 (Join to see), Sir you have a valid point. But the thing is then everybody who was on the flight should do the same. And you're right about the "exposure" definition, I also wonder if CDC will revise its guidance. I guess we'll have to sit back and see.
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1SG Chris Brown
I agree with you, especially on the definition of exposure. What does it mean to come in contact with bodily fluids? I mean there's the obvious. We certainly wouldn't want to kiss, share needles, have sex with, or share contact lenses with someone with Ebola. But what about other things? They say that it's no big deal to be on the plane together if I don't swap any bodily fluids. OK. So I'm sitting on a plane next to the person and our arms wipe against each other and the person's sweat gets on my arm. I have pores in my skin where that sweat could interact with; does this constitute bodily fluid transmission? How about if I have food or drink on my tray and the person sneezes? Even if they cover their mouth, quite likely some droplets of saliva will shoot out and around the general vicinity and onto my food. Problem? Or I go in the bathroom to wash off my face after a long flight but I don’t know if that Ebola infected person was in there puking in the sink or brushing their teeth and saliva is around the sink and faucet. If the disease is so HARD to catch, as the CDC claims, why have thousands of people died and many more been infected in Africa? The news reported a few weeks ago that the CDC predicted over a million cases by early next year unless we act swiftly now. And yet I’m supposed to believe that this is some extremely hard virus to pass between people? Hmmm….
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1SG Chris Brown, I was wondering the same thing. Each and every time I read this on CNN or seen it on the news I was like, "really self quarantine? Is that even a real thing?" I don't believe he needs to be quarantined, I think he should monitor himself for signs and if any of the symptoms arise, then he should report to a hospital. 21 days is a long time to be away from work, civilian or military. Honestly, many of us have probably sat next to someone or been in the vicinity of someone with a communicable disease or airborne disease and never once thought about it. I believe the media makes everything so much worse than what it is in reality. I'm not saying Ebola isn't serious, but the media are putting the people in a frenzy.
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1SG Chris Brown
You're right. I don't know how you just call the boss and say I'm not coming to work for 3 weeks because maybe somehow I might have been in the general vicinity of a person with Ebola. And somehow the PAO thought it was the honorable thing to do, as if not doing it would then be dishonorable??
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