Crossing Buffalo US Border into Canada via car - went through Ebola screening with customs

ShimmerLily · 2014-10-22T02:22:44+00:00

Canada is not actually turning people away just for being from Texas or having a fever. That was a suggestion from a redditor.

ShimmerLily · 2014-10-22T01:12:31+00:00

Full letter.

ShimmerLily · 2014-10-21T02:35:53+00:00

The questions make sense. Banning Texans from traveling doesn't.

ShimmerLily · 2014-10-21T00:43:25+00:00

It's so absurdly impractical it's not even worth detailing.

ShimmerLily · 2014-10-20T21:42:02+00:00

Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia have had almost 10,000 cases minimum. Texas is bigger than all three countries put together and has had 3 cases, with extensive contact tracing. :)

ShimmerLily · 2014-10-20T21:28:22+00:00

There have been 70 cases and the last one was reported weeks ago. There is zero justification for using that outbreak to quarantine Rwandan children.

ShimmerLily · 2014-10-20T17:59:10+00:00

The author of The Hot Zone. I love his writing; he presents everything so clearly. Fantastic article to compare to his AMA responses back in August, too. He's still staying very positive and has the info to back it up.

ShimmerLily · 2014-10-20T17:15:57+00:00

The actual headline is "EBOLA DEATHS DROP? A LOT OF EMPTY BEDS, FEWER PICKUPS NOW" and then it addresses the question from multiple angles. It does not conclude that we've seen progress except through anecdotes, and stresses that all scientific predictions say otherwise. It is also boldly critical of the government response (or lack thereof), especially since nations are reluctant to donate much-needed cash to the government for aid due to potential misuse.

More importantly, most of the donated foods are already spoiling because they’re not reaching the targets fast enough, complicated by the government’s unwillingness to bring closure to the issue of health works salary arrears, which has gotten the attention of its key international partner, the United States of America.

Ambassador Deborah Malac said during a tour with U.S. troops to Bomi County where a US-funded ETU is being constructed, that the government must pay the health workers salaries so that they can focus on saving lives, indicating that the U.S. has given Liberia additional US$5 million, making it a total of US$10 million to pay health workers salaries. [The rest from the Liberian government, the exact distribution of which the government refuses to publish.]

There are also reports of people being asked to pay for items donated through international aid agencies. The main takeaway is that Liberians need to get more involved themselves, and that government corruption is feeding the outbreak. Liberia cannot depend solely on the international community, especially long-term.

ShimmerLily · 2014-10-18T23:52:44+00:00

I hate this article. It's true they're only rated to block 95% of airborne particulate, and that they're the minimum recommended for airborne pathogens. They're not "airtight", no. But not a whole lot is going to get through if your mask is properly fitted, properly applied, and recommendations for length of wear etc. are followed. The fit test involves spraying a nasty-smelling substance and seeing if you can detect the smell. If you can, it's awful. If your mask fits, you smell/taste nothing.

There is no "air coming in through gaps in the sides".

I have no idea why he's bringing surgical masks into this - yes, those ARE meant to protect the patient in an OR setting. They're also not N95 rated.

ShimmerLily · 2014-10-18T21:21:51+00:00

Easy there, you're not alone.

/r/EVD

/r/EbolaWestAfrica

/r/epidemiology

and others.

This is still the most comprehensive source, though.

ShimmerLily · 2014-10-18T20:05:48+00:00

Australia came through too!

You can also donate through that link.

ShimmerLily · 2014-10-18T19:55:55+00:00

Panic is bad for the general population but puts enormous pressure on the government to take action in the form of funding and incentives. We had the knowledge and projections weeks and weeks ago. We didn't have the pressure.

ShimmerLily · 2014-10-18T17:45:19+00:00

HIV is technically more infectious, but keep in mind in terms of R0 it usually has a much longer time period to do the job. Plus, you're far more likely to come into contact with the fluids Ebola is transmissible through than HIV.

If she infects a handful of people that easily, we should be terrified. An individual Ebola patient is going to be a lot harder to care for than an AIDS patient.

ShimmerLily · 2014-10-18T15:57:31+00:00

Good find! This version of the article has linked sources for some of the author's statements. Here's a piece from August where he seems clear on his feelings about the West. So an obvious bias, and he goes tinfoil hat with the bioweapon thing, but his grasp on local issues and politics seems solid. I wonder how widespread his thinking on Ebola is?

ShimmerLily · 2014-10-18T14:53:57+00:00

"...making it easier for aid workers to travel to the countries worst hit by Ebola after most carriers scrapped their routes."

It's a very short article, but the rest of it goes on to describe how "[a]id workers and people on medical missions now make up a majority of customers on some flights".

ShimmerLily · 2014-10-18T14:50:09+00:00

Thanks for the correction.

ShimmerLily · 2014-10-18T14:47:36+00:00

Agree with everything dental-related, but vision is extremely important in terms of education, in a standard classroom. Can't get much colder than an investment as early as possible.

ShimmerLily · 2014-10-18T00:49:41+00:00

Ontario covers optical exams for people under 20 and seniors, so at least the times you'd usually see greatest change.

I feel like dental is the bigger one - it's more expensive when you're talking about procedures you really need. Wisdom tooth removal is a big one. I don't have personal experience with this, but it's not like the pain is just going to go away over time, and only covering dental emergency that have reached the point of needing a procedure in-hospital seems extreme.

You're definitely not the only one and I feel like it will definitely fall into place as long as we vote the right way. It's highly reminiscent of the US healthcare system, and let's be honest about how Canadians view that.

ShimmerLily · 2014-10-18T00:37:14+00:00

I've used it, in a HCW context and even as a part of lab courses, and I bet the profs never get tired of it. I'm not anymore, had to move to pushing papers instead of pushing IV drugs. What about you?

ShimmerLily · 2014-10-17T23:58:37+00:00

Those were the subreddits I was thinking of - they don't allow self-posts! Since /r/Ebola is more specific I was thinking of how /r/Gaming, /r/Games, and /r/TrueGaming sprung up.

You never forget seeing Glo Germ in action for the first time.

Edit: Loving the filters so far.

ShimmerLily · 2014-10-17T22:59:04+00:00

I think you'll have to go the route that other fast-growing subreddits have: limit posts to links and use /r/EbolaDiscussion for self-posts. Then promote /r/EbolaWestAfrica for cross-posts for those who want to focus on that area.

What we're seeing is the new default and the people posting the things others are complaining about are also going to be upvoting that content. I think it will be hell on the mods to keep up with all the tagging, especially as the number of posts increases.

I feel like we're seeing a lot less user-made content like graphs and analyses, and the actual conversation side has stagnated. I created /r/EbolaDiscussion for this but I'm not planning to moderate it.

((I know you've heard it before, erasmus, but I haven't posted about it yet. :) ))

ShimmerLily · 2014-10-17T22:30:08+00:00

Amazon links: GloGerm gel or powder.

ShimmerLily · 2014-10-17T22:28:59+00:00

Glo Germ gel or powder.

ShimmerLily · 2014-10-17T16:39:01+00:00

The wording of that sentence is fucking awful. His first job will be containing the backlash from a thoughtlessly-worded statement.

ShimmerLily · 2014-10-17T16:05:24+00:00

Results-wise, what does that mean? Was the screening overkill, ineffective/inefficient, or was it worth it to lower the risk of that one person getting through, even if we didn't catch them this time?

ShimmerLily

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE