Ebola outbreak

[Vee]

I didn't even know there was a Frontier Airlines. It just makes me think of Cracker Barrel or Big Lots. The name does not inspire confidence. And I have to fly out west in a few weeks for work, hooray!

[ellabelle]

This. An airport isn't exactly a clean place.

Still, that this nurse thought it was okay to travel indicates that neither the hospital nor the CDC did a very good job of explaining to everyone who is being monitored exactly what is and is not acceptable behavior during this time period. I realize that 21 days is a long time, but if you're under quarantine, you need to stay at home. If you are just being monitored, you need to be told whether or not you can travel and exactly where you can go during that time, and anyone who isn't willing to follow the rules needs to be quarantined.

[marceline]

I don't know if that's the case or not. Some people just never think that rules apply to them. We see that with libertarianism all the time, "I don't need the government telling me what to do. I can decide for myself what's best for me." This is a natural result of that kind of thinking. I'm not claiming to know what that nurse was thinking but the "I know best. Government is the enemy" mentality is hardly a rare one and medical professionals often make the worst patients because they don't take advice well.

[Vee]

I'm pissed at both her and Duncan, and I probably should feel bad about that. But I don't.

[JaneAusten]

What can you do when the people who are supposed to realize how dangerous this is, the medical professionals, can't adhere to the protocols recommended by the CDC? She's just like that medical professional from NBC who went out to get soup, thinking they were fine no problem.

And she was just diagnosed last night(Tuesday) and she traveled on Monday? How can anyone ensure she was not experiencing any symptoms at the point she was in transit. The saving grace at this point is at least she's going to Emory for hospitalization and care.

[Soapsuds]

My friend refuses to fly now and went on a business trip by car instead. She took 2 days to get there instead of the same day fly mode route.

[Angela]

She left Dallas before the first nurse was diagnosed. I think it is clear she did know she had a low grade fever when she went on that plane heading back to Dallas, though.

The nurse in Spain didn't go on holiday from what I read. She had planned to but her husband got injured so they decided to just stay in.

Scary figure. It's clear the Ebola patient becomes more contagious as they get more sick. My thought - or rather, question - is does that level of contagious come close to the point of airborne? Maybe, maybe not, these nurses were dealing with very close contact. The closest you can be to a person bodily fluids without literally being in them.

[but then there's Duncan's girlfriend? She was probably taking care of him with no protection and he left the hospital the first time with a fever of over 103. It's amazing she hasn't become sick.]

Hopefully the government learns from this. They should have taken control of the Duncan situation immediately doings things they are now doing. You leave one spot un-watered sometimes, thinking it doesn't matter, and that one neglected spot can cause a big forest fire.

[Nate4]

Hate to say it, but this has gotten bad. I'm sure someone on the plane will get sick.

[Juliajms]

Do we really come in contact with other people's bodily fluids when we fly?

[Angela]

Unless the experts are lying to us, which they may be doing, I don't think anybody is going to get sick from the plane rides. I would hope the ban in travel (right down to public transportation) - that I'm pretty sure they're now going to enforce - is just them being extra careful. This nurse was able to walk up the stairs to that plane to Atlanta, she's not near her most contagious state yet.

[marceline]

I just took a trip to NYC and I went by Amtrak. You get a ton of legroom and I didn't have to be worried about my plane being diverted because someone reclined their seat. Flying is becoming a less and less attractive option all the time for a whole host of reasons.

No but that hasn't stopped the local drama queens from freaking out.

[Vee]

I highly doubt anyone but perhaps people in the closest proximity with Nurse I Do What I Want from the plane will be infected.

[Angela]

The nurse should not have flown after realizing she had a low grade fever, but the story goes that the disease isn't as contagious in it's early stages as it is in its late stages. If that is true, I'd be shocked if anybody on either plane ride got Ebola from her even if she shared a glass of wine with some of them.

While there's well over 100 people in that 21 day window of caution, lets look at who has gotten sick from Duncan: two nurses that were taking care of this man in his final days. The same is true for the nurse in Spain.

[Nate4]

I wonder if those nurses came into contact with the man before he was diagnosed with Ebola? Could that be a possibility?

[alphanguy74]

AMEN! The last time me and my family went somwhere by air, I vowed it would be the last time. The Dallas/Fort Worth airport is the most horrid place on the planet. My 75 year old mother was on CRUTCHES, and they made her walk through the damn metal detector without them! I then realized that the small, easy dream of an airport that is Kansas City International is pretty much an exception, and not a rule as far as airports go. You can't express displeasure at ANYTHING on an airline anymore without some bitchy stewardess threatening to have you arrested. I've decide if I can't drive there, I'm not going.