Ebola screening at LHR UK Border: starts Tuesday
Oct 14, 2014, 8:03 am
#17
Join Date: May 2011
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Simon Calder on the phone to LBC said that the only flights of interest were those connecting on the same airline with flights from the affected areas. At T1 this morning, that meant a single flight: Brussels Airlines from, er, Brussels.
However, having sussed that out, journalists were prevented by 'security' (HAL?) from pursuing this and reporting.
Good to have a 'free' press.
However, having sussed that out, journalists were prevented by 'security' (HAL?) from pursuing this and reporting.
Good to have a 'free' press.
With such a limited test group (there were only a few does of the various drugs available as they are all still in preclinical stages of development) it's hard to say for sure if the drug had anything to do with the recovery of those being treated.
My understanding is that the mortality rate isn't as high as some previous outbreaks (figures I've seen put it at around 50-60% but ofc those are official figures and the real toll could be much higher), however with so many more infected the death toll is higher than previous outbreaks, even if the mortality rate is indeed lower. When you also add in the fact that most (if not all) of those receiving the drugs are also being treated in world class facilities outside of west africa, it's entirely possible that they would have recovered even without the drugs.
Also wasn't that the guy in Texas that died being treated with ZMapp plus I'm sure I read somewhere that one of the other patients who died outside of West Africa (in europe maybe) was also being treated with another of the drugs under devlopment.
All that being said, the development of such drugs can only be a good thing, even if it's likely such research will be completed too late for the majority affected by the current outbreak.
I read an article stating that the WHO believes that in order for this outbreak to be checked, at least 70% of those infected are being treated and quarantined in treatment centres however, currently only around 20% of those infected are in such facilities, with many more being turned away due to lack of beds...a situation that won't improve without assistance from outside the region.
My understanding is that the mortality rate isn't as high as some previous outbreaks (figures I've seen put it at around 50-60% but ofc those are official figures and the real toll could be much higher), however with so many more infected the death toll is higher than previous outbreaks, even if the mortality rate is indeed lower. When you also add in the fact that most (if not all) of those receiving the drugs are also being treated in world class facilities outside of west africa, it's entirely possible that they would have recovered even without the drugs.
Also wasn't that the guy in Texas that died being treated with ZMapp plus I'm sure I read somewhere that one of the other patients who died outside of West Africa (in europe maybe) was also being treated with another of the drugs under devlopment.
All that being said, the development of such drugs can only be a good thing, even if it's likely such research will be completed too late for the majority affected by the current outbreak.
I read an article stating that the WHO believes that in order for this outbreak to be checked, at least 70% of those infected are being treated and quarantined in treatment centres however, currently only around 20% of those infected are in such facilities, with many more being turned away due to lack of beds...a situation that won't improve without assistance from outside the region.
I agree with you about the drugs though. They look promising but they haven't been tested anywhere near as well as they normally would have been so there's no certain way of saying just how effective it is. Shame the West won't put as much effort into humanitarian programs as they do into waging war.
Oct 14, 2014, 8:04 am
#18
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Oct 14, 2014, 8:12 am
#19
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Oct 14, 2014, 1:40 pm
#20
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The treatment protocol for Ebola (according to the CDC) is as follows:
Providing intravenous fluids (IV)and balancing electrolytes (body salts)
Maintaining oxygen status and blood pressure
Treating other infections if they occur
Maintaining oxygen status and blood pressure
Treating other infections if they occur
Oct 14, 2014, 2:08 pm
#21
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Better medical facilities? The treatment protocol for Ebola (according to the CDC) is as follows:
So that's a drip and electrolytes. Pretty advanced, huh?
The treatment protocol for Ebola (according to the CDC) is as follows:So that's a drip and electrolytes. Pretty advanced, huh?
In Monrovia, patients are regularly turned away because there are insufficient beds for them to use. (http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/Be...wards-20140928)
Moreover, patient isolation efforts are substantially better in the west, where we have an abundance of isolation wards. Ill-equipped Liberian medical staff have been threatening to strike over the danger they face. 93 nurses and doctors have been infected so far. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-29591805
Resources previously allocated to malaria control have been completely redirected into controlling this outbreak. (See, e.g., http://www.nature.com/news/ebola-out...fforts-1.16029) Malaria drugs that are available are no longer being distributed in Liberia because there are insufficient trucks to move them.
And of course western patients have preferential access to experimental treatments.
Oct 14, 2014, 2:24 pm
#22
Join Date: Apr 2012
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Instead of listening to FTers, why not find a microbiologist and talk to them about how they would treat Ebola - pretty sure the answer is going to be the same as the CDC's i.e. "fluids and salts". It's not exactly a high-tech treatment.
Oct 14, 2014, 3:08 pm
#23
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 3,196
I was under the impression that the 'facilities' had been installed ever since H1N1.....or whatever it was called. The white arches with IR sensors at the entrance to customs channels are the temperature monitoring points......unless of course I was sold a duff cookie on that one.
Oct 14, 2014, 3:11 pm
#24
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I was under the impression that the 'facilities' had been installed ever since H1N1.....or whatever it was called. The white arches with IR sensors at the entrance to customs channels are the temperature monitoring points......unless of course I was sold a duff cookie on that one.
from http://www.bbc.com/news/health-29605988:
Under the new UK screening measures, they will be identified by Border Force officers upon arrival. Nurses and consultants from Public Health England will then carry out the actual screening.
Ebola screening confusion on day one of new Heathrow airport measures
No 10 says tests are compulsory but health secretary says passengers from Liberia, Guinea or Sierra Leone must volunteer
No 10 says tests are compulsory but health secretary says passengers from Liberia, Guinea or Sierra Leone must volunteer
Oct 14, 2014, 3:13 pm
#25
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 3,196
Border Force aren't anywhere near the customs channels, are they?
from http://www.bbc.com/news/health-29605988:
from http://www.bbc.com/news/health-29605988:
Oct 14, 2014, 3:16 pm
#26
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Border Force aren't anywhere near the customs channels, are they?
from http://www.bbc.com/news/health-29605988:
and from http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...port-measures:
from http://www.bbc.com/news/health-29605988:
and from http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...port-measures:
Oct 14, 2014, 3:31 pm
#27
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Oct 14, 2014, 4:03 pm
#28
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The other one had a piece of paper saying "use the phone"
Managed to find the phone, then a grumpy person said he'd be right out.
10 minutes later he turned up. At least 2 people had come through the red channel by that point and just carried on through.
Oct 14, 2014, 4:22 pm
#29
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 2,379
Better medical facilities? The treatment protocol for Ebola (according to the CDC) is as follows:
So that's a drip and electrolytes. Pretty advanced, huh?
The treatment protocol for Ebola (according to the CDC) is as follows:So that's a drip and electrolytes. Pretty advanced, huh?
And where it this "high-tech" argument coming from? I didn't say more technologically advanced - I said better. Though that most certainly isn't "the treatment protocol", it's a very simplified list. Take a look at the Ebola facility in London and try and tell me it's just "a drip and electrolytes"...
