Polly, I See That You Have A New Neighbor, Also

[Martha]

Polly, thank you.

We here in Dallas are inundated with news of Ebola, and everyone is terrified because we hear about it so much. Really we are in more danger from West Nile Virus than from Ebola, since very few of us have been in direct contact with Ebola victims, and West Nile is spread by mosquitoes. The media very much sensationalizes Ebola and the danger to us, even in constantly reiterating that we aren't in danger.

I agree that the nurse should not have been allowed to fly; in fact, I can't imagine why she didn't just choose to stay close to home to be on the safe side.

Martha

[tex]

Hi Polly,

You're right of course. Everyone wants to cut funding, until it's time to use the services that were cut, and then we wonder why it was done.

And to put things in perspective, don't forget that 50,000 Americans die from the flu each year, and another 50,000 from prescribed medication-related problems.

The primary difference is (as you mentioned in your comment about the news reporter) that the news cameras are not focused on those 100,000 Americans virtually 24x7.

To me the biggest "blunder" so far was allowing the nurse with the temp of 99.6 to get on a plane - because she didn't meet the definition of fever - which is 100.4. The fact that she had been in contact with the original ebola patient should trump everything!

I totally agree. That temperature thing I blame on the standard medical practice of assuming that there is no gray area during the development of a disease — as if one minute patients are fine, and the next minute they have the disease. That protocol needs to be changed to recognized that the development of active disease is a time-dependent process. Someone dropped the ball, but even if she wasn't advised to stay at home, what on earth was that nurse thinking? again

Thanks for responding.

Love,
Tex

[tex]

Linda and Martha,

Yes, it seems as though the government is spending way too much time trying to assure us how difficult it is to catch Ebola, and how they are in control of the situation. While the mainstream media are doing everything they can to convince us that the situation is out of control (which it is not).

And I agree about the West Nile threat. Working outdoors, it's impossible for me to totally avoid mosquitoes. I keep wondering if I've already had a mild case, and now I'm immune, or if it's still out there, waiting to bite me in the butt.

Of course Ebola could be spread by mosquitoes if they transferred the blood quickly enough. Usually though, they fill up and go roost somewhere for a while as they digest the blood, and theoretically at least, that should allow the threat to expire.

For some reason this brings to mind the old Viennese saying; "The situation is desperate but not serious."

Tex