Things That Cross My Mind
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If there is one thing that I do incessantly it is try to understand the world around me. I am endlessly curious. If a group of people “A” do one thing, then why do others do “B”? What motivates them? What is their truth?
Like everyone, I am watching the news on Ebola very closely trying to gauge how it could impact me and our world. As someone who travels for a living, I need to know what is going on so I can take the necessary precautions to protect myself, and keep me and my business healthy.
One element that has me very curious right now is the bio-hazard cleanups that occurred in four Ebola cases that we know of here in the U.S. And it raises questions for me, and leaves me with no concrete answers to understand.
We have been told that the only way Ebola is transmitted is through direct contact with body fluids. And we’ve also been told that Ebola can only live on surfaces for a short period of time. I suspect these are both truths from what we know to date. I have little reason to doubt anyone about this at this point.
I did some digging and found the longest studied documented case of Ebola surviving on another substance was 6 days.
So when someone comes down with Ebola, why are we severely gutting their apartments?
See what they did to Amber Vinson’s apartment here.
I can understand saying the apartment is a danger zone and banning people from entry for a week or two, and cleaning out perishable foods and liquids, and any contaminants such as blood or vomit, but to remove 53 barrels of waste material and call it hazardous from a small apartment is unsettling. They removed nearly everything.
It seems completely inconsistent and has me scratching my head in curiosity.
Also, I wouldn’t think they would want to send anyone in for a week to make sure we don’t further contaminate people unnecessarily. Why take undue risks that aren’t necessary? Let the virus die if it is there.
If they just did a basic sanitation and closed and locked the door for two weeks, you would think that would be sufficient, but by the actions we see people doing, they don’t believe it is. And who makes these decisions? What are the laws? Are we just reacting out of fear? What is the truth here? Is there fear Ebola could be spread through the air?
Then I was shocked to read the fiancee of the doctor in New York City, Morgan Dixon, went back to the apartment they shared with Craig Spencer, the first NYC doctor to return from Africa and get Ebola. After a 1-day bio-cleanup in his apartment, she returned there again. You can surmise if she was able to return to that apartment to live in it, it obviously wasn’t nearly as stripped as what we saw happen to the Texas for the nurses apartments, without question.
Why the differences?
And so I ask what is the truth here? Are people simply reacting in panic? Is this only going to happen in apartments to alleviate fears of the remaining residence? Is this overly cautious behavior? Or is there more to this?
Can we continue to do this if we get a bigger outbreak? Is this reasonable?
Right now I do not have the answers…I am watching closely to learn more.
Hi Eyes and a belated happy anniversary to you and Mr. Eyes 🙂
The situation with Ebola is very different from many of the types of situations I see you post about in your blog. A lot of my work has involved employee safety (but not Hazmat nor Ebola). Your confusion is understandable. I would bet money that the people involved don’t *actually* know what they are doing. Literally they are guessing. Making this up as they go (I call that the Indiana Jones school of management).
The sermon in church on Sunday was advising people to do their own research on threats, use their intelligence and come to their own conclusions. Sounds like the people in charge of the Ebola crisis should have been with me at church this past weekend.
Most of the people you write about have some type of plan or a history or a strategy or there is family animosity (etc) in what they do. None of that exists here. That’s why this is so different – and so perplexing.
In the near total absence of information on their end about Ebola, and some incorrect information, they took the only logical and rational response they saw possible – eliminate any possible contamination by eliminating everything. No exceptions. This was almost 100% wrong – the risk of Ebola could have been solved very easily and at much lower cost (both money and emotion). But right now the people in charge don’t have a strategy or a plan, just a goal. They can not get any better in their analysis than the goal of “eliminate the threat”. So they did.
On a related note – earlier this year the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company had a large part of Liberia that was at risk from Ebola. Firestone successfully addressed the situation – something virtually no government has done as well to this time. If Firestone can do it, the US Government should be able to do it, too.
More info: http://www.npr.org/blogs/goatsandsoda/2014/10/06/354054915/firestone-did-what-governments-have-not-stopped-ebola-in-its-tracks
Russ, I always love ur posts n look forward to them! From the response we have seen so far to Ebola you might be right that whoever is in charge is just guessing. But I hope your wrong. I hope that they are more informed than you or I or anyone else right now. I love the Indiana Jones school of management! Lol that’s how I learned to drive and fly!
Thanks! 🙂
Here you go Eyes…
Your post was very telling. Lots of uproar about mandatory quarantine. Here’s a link from today..
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/elizabeth-warren-demands-christie-shows-the-science-behind-mandatory-ebola-quarantine/
Hi Eyes,
Best wishes on your twentieth wedding anniversary!
Some of the difference in the response across states can be explained because each state so far has had its own rules and procedures often coming from very different agencies in each state.
I did just read that the Feds and states are going to try develop a standardized, national set of protocols and safeguards. Hopefully this will enable a more effective response and less hysteria.
We all need to keep in mind that the flu kills ** tens of thousands ** of Americans on average each year, and yet people still don’t get their flu shots. So far one person has died of Ebola in this country.
I think we are reacting out of fear and not knowledge, and we don’t trust our government to tell us the true facts. They are so busy trying to get us not to panic, but we see nurses, who are taking extreme precaution, getting sick. Over the years, I have observed that people swing like pendulums. We will go one way for awhile, then the other way for awhile, then we will find a path that we feel is right or comfortable and settle in. From what I have heard (don’t blame me), people in Liberia do not wash their hands like we do here. That may be the reason for such a wide spread of the disease there. So far, we haven’t had very many cases, over-all. That tells me that we are doing something right.
From what I have heard on T.V., people aren’t very contagious until they get real sick. That gives us a little relief from contagion being on airplanes and in public places. I am still concerned and would be very careful about hand-washing and being as careful as we can be.
I hope all of this dies down real soon.
Happy anniversary and may your next 20 be wonderful!
All questions that I have as well & was hoping you had answers to. Thanks for discussing it, alot of us trust your judgement and instincts 🙂
I think CNN should have had an experts viewpoint. Otherwise all we have is ‘they took 53 barrels out of her apartment’. Shocking – but news reporting should be more than just reporting what happened. Some more of why it happened is better news reporting.
“the most important truth in risk communication is the exceedingly low correlation between whether a risk is dangerous, and whether it’s upsetting…” Peter Sandman. In other words, people often get very upset over things that represent low danger and vice versa. To prevent this in myself, I often compare the danger to the probability of dying in car accident. Gutting the apartment may have been more about not only the baseless fear of the apartment owners and managers but PR–they needed to be able to rent that apartment while the other was still occupied.
One thing to consider here is viruses mutate. Ebola is mutating as is every other virus. I swear I read an article around the time Nina Pham was diagnosed that stated there was proof that Ebola had become airborne, that we could possibly catch it that way not just by contact with fluids. Now that article is nowhere to be found. With so much information being disseminated, some of it incorrect, it’s leading to confusion and fear. But I would guess we all would want them to err on the side of caution, however extreme, just to ensure safety. At the risk of sounding ignorant, how can we be sure Ebola hasn’t already mutated to live longer outside the body? That’s my concern.
Fair questions from Elizabeth. The best science I can find shows the following:
“”Scientists are unaware of any virus that has dramatically changed its mode of transmission,” the agency said. For example, it noted that the H5N1 avian influenza virus has infected billions of birds for at least 20 years, and yet its transmission pattern remains essentially unchanged.”
In other words, according to the article science does not have a single example of any virus that went from bodily transmission to airborne. Ever. There is exactly no evidence that Ebola is transmitted through the air. It is pure speculation.
I found a report – possibly the one Elizabeth found – that claims Ebola is spread through the air – and a close scientific reading shows that it is speculation, not science. Here is a brief article about the case: http://www.inquisitr.com/1541821/ebola-is-airborne-university-of-minnesota-cidrap-researchers-claim/
Here is an article that discusses the risk of Ebola by method of transmission – written by the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control – it’s very brief and easily understandable:
http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2014/10/who-cdc-dissect-ebola-transmission-risk
Elizabeth’s questions are good – let’s base the answers in the best information available 🙂
Thank you Russ! This is definitely good to know! 🙂
What I don’t understand Eyes is the questions you raise. Most people would just accept the confusion surrounding the situation or draw their own conclusions. Makes me wonder why I’m just accepting things on face value and not digging deeper.
I am surprised no one else is raising this question in the media. I have tweeted it to a few and no one addresses it. Perplexing!
That is interesting. You would think they would have been all over that news angle.
The article below, is not directly related, but does give perspective on what needs to be done at the source to control the spread. Currently in Liberia two infected people will infect three more.
Hygienic funerals, better protection for health workers offer best chance to stop Ebola
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/10/141030142210.htm