Growing list of Ebola-infected victims in the US.
By The American Bazaar Staff
NEW YORK: Â Despite assurances of stringent methods to control cases of Ebola spreading here in the concrete jungle, there is a sense of trepidation and a feeling of watching a high wire act, as authorities and the general populace, and indeed the rest of the country and the world wait to see if more cases of Ebola erupt, after Dr. Craig Spencer, a doctor in New York who recently returned from the Ebola-hit Guinea in West Africa, was found to be positive and shifted to isolation ward at the Bellevue Hospital Center.
Dr. Spencer went to Guinea as part of a delegation of doctors working under the charity firm Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF). He came back a few days ago, and reported 103 fever on Thursday, which is one of the common symptoms of Ebola virus during its dormant stage.
Dr. Spencer’s is the first case of Ebola reported from New York, but there are a few other patients treated in different hospitals across the United States.
According to the WHO report more than 4,800 patients affected with Ebola, have succumbed to the disease till now. The highest number of deaths was reported from West African countries like Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.
Before falling ill, Dr. Spencer had gone out bowling in Brooklyn, and took public transportation, including the subway and Uber. Authorities have collected details about four people who could have come in close contact with him, and quarantined them. This includes his fiancée and two of his close friends. There is no official report about the fourth person yet.
Officials came out with a statement late on Thursday to ease the fear of 8.4 million New Yorkers. According to them, the city had prepared for Ebola weeks before the first case was reported.
The Mayor of NYC, Bill de Blasio said, “There is no reason for New Yorkers to be alarmed. Ebola is an extremely hard disease to contract. New Yorkers who have not been exposed to an infected person’s bodily fluids are not at risk.”
The Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo was quoted by The Guardian saying “We can’t say that this is an unexpected circumstance.”
According to the statement released by the White House, President Barack Obama had called both the governor and the mayor to extend “any additional federal support necessary.â€
However, the markets are jittery, and if more cases suddenly crop up, the cost and efforts to cleanse and quarantine people will spiral up, quickly.
The Ebola patients in the United States who are recovering from the disease or who have recovered are:
Texas nurse Amber Vinson moved from the isolation ward
Texas nurse Amber Vinson who was treated for Ebola at the Atlanta’s Emory University Hospital was moved from the isolation ward as doctors could no longer find the traces of Ebola virus in her blood. According to her relatives, the family is overjoyed with her remarkable improvement. They also added that Vinson is regaining her strength and her spirits are at the peak.
Texas nurse Nina Pham is improving
Nina Pham, the 26-year-old nurse, infected with Ebola, was reported by the hospital authorities as maintaining fair condition since she was airlifted to a special NIH clinical study unit in Maryland.
Both she and Vinson were working in the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital where they contracted the disease from Thomas Eric Duncan, the first Ebola patient in the US who died on October 8.
NBC journalist Ashoka Mukpo is now Ebola free
Ashoka Mukpo who was infected with Ebola while working as a freelance camera person for NBC news has been cleared of the virus. After the diagnosis Mukpo was moved to the Nebraska Medical Center on Oct. 5th. He was reported Ebola free on Oct. 21st. He came out with a statement saying, “After enduring weeks where it was unclear whether I would survive, I’m walking out of the hospital on my own power, free from Ebola. This blessing is in no small measure a result of the world class care I received at the Nebraska Medical Center.â€
Doctor X is now resting at home
An American Doctor who works for WHO was found Ebola positive after visiting Sierra Leone. The doctor who wished to remain unidentified spent six weeks in the Emory University Hospital starting from Sept. 9 after which he was asked to return home. He said in a statement, “I want the public to know that although Ebola is a serious, complex disease, it is possible to recover and return to a healthy life.”
Dr. Rick Sacra is still worried about the recurrence
Dr. Rick Sacra was sent home on Sept. 25 after spending three weeks in the isolation ward of the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. He infected the virus while in Liberia, working for a Christian mission and was one of the patients to receive the experimental drug. But early October, he was once again admitted to the Boston-area hospital with pneumonia.
Dr. Kent Brantly, the blood donor
After transmitting the disease while in Liberia working for a Christian mission, he was air lifted to the Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, which is one of the four hospitals equipped with advanced facilities to treat Ebola. He was cured of the disease and was released on Aug. 21. Since his recovery, Dr. Brantly has been donating his blood to several Ebola patients for blood transfusion in the hope that they could benefit from it. Dr. Rick Sacra and Mukpo got blood transfusion from him.
Nancy Writebol made a complete recovery
Nancy Writebol was one of the first cases of Ebola reported in the United States. She like many others got the virus while working for a Christian mission in Liberia. Soon after her diagnosis she was flown to Emory University Hospital. She was discharged for the hospital on Aug. 19 after receiving the experimental drug.
The standard for treating Ebola in the U.S. is by testing and replacing electrolytes that are later flushed off from the patient during extreme vomiting and diarrhoea, which are the symptoms of mid-stages Ebola.