THE MALE AMERICAN WITH THE EBOLA VIRUS IS HERE IN THE UNITED STATES. WHAT ARE YOUR VIEWS ON HAVING THEM BRING A HIGHLY INFECTIOUS, HIGHLY DANGEROUS, HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS DEADLY DISEASE INTO THE UNITED STATES TO STUDY IT (BECAUSE THEY CANT TREAT)....HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THIS? American aid worker stricken with Ebola now in U.S. hospital and in great spirits after walking into the hospital. Dr. Kent Brantly, the first American Ebola patient to be treated in the U.S., climbs down from ambulance at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta on Saturday, clad in protective suit. As the deadly Ebola virus continued to ravage parts of West Africa on Saturday, the American doctor infected with the disease touched down in the U.S. and was whisked away to a Georgia hospital with a special isolation unit, where he was in “great spirits,” his family said. Video of the arrival of Dr. Kent Brantly, who was stricken while treating Ebola victims in Liberia, shows him clad in head-to-toe protective gear as he steps out from the back of an ambulance. He was able to walk by himself, although another person — wearing the same type of haz-mat gear — was there to steady him as he moved inside Emory University in Atlanta. Brantly, 33, is the first known Ebola patient on U.S. soil. He’s one of two Americans to become infected while working in West Africa, where the deadly viral hemorrhagic illness has killed 729 so far and sickened at least 1,300. The doctor was flown home in a specially equipped medical plane landed at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Ga. Because it can only hold one person at a time, the plane has to now return to Africa to pick up the second sick American, Brantly’s fellow missionary, Nancy Writebol. Both will be treated in Emory’s isolation unit. Writebol is expected to be back in the U.S. in a few days, authorities said. Brantly’s family burst into tears when they learned he was back on American soil. His wife, Amber, said she was cheered to see that he could walk. Dr. Kent Brantly, one of two American aid workers who have tested positive for the Ebola virus while working to combat its outbreak, has landed in the U.S. and is being whisked to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Ga. for treatment. Brantly is the first person carrying the virus to be treated in the U.S. “It was a relief to welcome Kent home today,” she said in a statement. “I spoke with him, and he is glad to be back in the U.S. I am thankful to God for his safe transport and for giving him the strength to walk into the hospital.” A family representative told CNN that Amber Brantly was able to visit with him for about 45 minutes — but only from behind the safety of a glass wall. Brantly was “in great spirits and so grateful,” the representative told the network. The doctor, who was doing aid work for the U.S.-based aid group Samaritan’s Purse, caught the infection while treating Ebola patients in Liberia. The nation is one of the three West Africa countries hit by the largest Ebola outbreak in history. Guinea and Sierra Leone have also been hard-hit. Nigeria to date has only had one known death from the virus. Doctors at Emory Hospital in Atlanta said the facility is well-equipped to treat patients with diseases even more infectious than Ebola. In 2005, it treated a patient infected with the virus known as SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome. Dr. Kent Brantly, seen here wearing protective gear, contracted the Ebola virus while treating victims in Liberia. An airplane carrying American doctor Kent Brantly who has the Ebola virus, arrives at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Georgia Aug. 2, 2014. The plane carrying Brantly landed at Dobbins Air Reserve Base Saturday. A Gulfstream airplane departs after transporting American doctor Kent Brantly to Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Georgia. Live coverage of the specially equipped medical plane carrying Ebola patient Dr. Kent Brantly touching down at Georgia Air Force base. Dr. Jay Varkey, an infectious disease specialist at Emory who will be involved in Brantly’s care, said Americans don’t need to fear the illness will spread. “Unlike the flu, like influenza, which we deal with every winter, Ebola cannot be spread through the air,” he told The Associated Press. The virus can only be transmitted through blood and bodily fluids, he noted. The symptoms start with a fever, followed by weakness and pains, usually a headache. As the sickness progresses, symptoms escalate to vomiting, diarrhea and kidney and liver problems. In its final stages, the viral illness causes internal hemorrhaging — and those infected sometimes bleed from their ears and mouths. Dr. Jay Varkey at Emory said Americans don’t need to fear that the illness will spread. The virus has no known cure, but specialists at Emory will rely on modern therapies like monitoring of fluids, electrolytes and vital signs. “That’s all we can do for such a patient. We can make them feel comfortable,” said Dr. Philip Brachman, an Emory University public health specialist who for many years worked with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. With proper care, Brantly’s body can try to defeat the virus on its own, he said. Exactly how Brantly got infected is not known. Health care workers are among the most vulnerable for contracting the virus because they treat those who are already ill. But they’re trained extensively in how to take proper precautions. Amber Brantly and the couple’s two children, 3 and 5, had left Liberia to attend a wedding in the U.S. just a few days before Brantly fell ill. He immediately quarantined himself. An ambulance departs Marietta, Ga., where a plane carrying Dr. Kent Brantly landed. His family has shown no sign of the usually fatal disease. The current outbreak in West Africa began in March and has slowly spread across the region. It’s unusual to have such an outbreak of Ebola in West Africa. The disease is far more common in Central and East Africa. The fatality rate is about 90 percent, but some people do survive. Those who fare best get early medical treatment and are able to counteract the dehydration that worsens as the illness runs its course.
Posted on: Sun, 03 Aug 2014 16:16:41 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015