New York Ebola Patient Enters More Serious Phase of Illness, Officials Say
By ANEMONA HARTOCOLLISOCT. 25, 2014
Dr. Craig Spencer in an undated photograph.
The condition of New York Citys first Ebola patient, Dr. Craig Spencer,
worsened on Saturday, though he remained awake and communicative, health
officials said.
Dr. Spencer, 33, was entering the next and more serious phase of his
illness, as anticipated with the appearance of gastrointestinal symptoms,
Ana Marengo, a spokeswoman for the citys public hospital system, said in a
statement. Dr. Spencer has been in isolation at Bellevue Hospital Center
since Thursday, when he reported having a fever of 100.3 degrees.
The statement was careful not to convey a sense of pessimism, and patients
undergoing treatment can worsen before they recover. In a brief telephone
interview from his room at Bellevue, Dr. Spencer spoke of his sickness in a
neutral tone that seemed stripped of illusions: Im still undergoing
treatment, he said.
Dr. Spencer said he had received about 200 calls from reporters and 300
emails. Adding that he did not mean to offend, he said, with a touch of wry
humor, that he had other priorities: When you have Ebola, not the best way
to spend your time.
Asked how he was feeling at that moment, Dr. Spencer brightened, saying
that, in spite of everything, I am feeling well.
Part of the usual course of the disease is the onset of diarrhea, which can
cause patients to lose an enormous amount of fluids and electrolytes. That,
in turn, can shut down their kidneys and disrupt the hearts rhythm. The key
to treating Ebola patients is supportive care, experts say, so that they can
stay alive long enough to allow their immune systems to fight off the virus,
which usually begins two to three weeks into the illness.
The Bellevue team caring for Dr. Spencer is in constant communication with
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well with as hospitals
that have successfully treated Ebola patients, including Emory University
Hospital and the Nebraska Medical Center, according to Ms. Marengos
statement. Like other Ebola patients, Dr. Spencer has been receiving both
antiviral and plasma therapy, the statement said.
While the statement did not elaborate on the nature of the plasma therapy,
some researchers believe that transfusing blood products from Ebola
survivors into infected patients may help fight the virus, and the treatment
has been used experimentally.
After Dr. Spencer was taken to the hospital on Thursday, the city began
tracing all of his contacts back to Tuesday, when he first began feeling
fatigued, though not feverish.
Over those two days, Dr. Spencer went jogging in his Harlem neighborhood and
walked the High Line. He dined out and, the night before he developed a
fever, went bowling in Brooklyn. He took three subway lines and a taxi.
City officials have been quick to reassure the public that people exposed to
Ebola are not contagious until they are symptomatic, with one of the initial
symptoms of infection being fever. The virus, experts say, is transmitted
only through close contact with bodily fluids like blood, saliva, sweat or
vomit, and does not live for long on surfaces like a subway pole. Both Mayor
Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo have ridden the subway to show that
it was safe.
After criticizing Dr. Spencer on Friday for not following the guidelines for
quarantine he had been monitoring his temperature, but not while under
quarantine Mr. Cuomo appeared to retreat from those remarks on Saturday.
I didnt mean to be critical of Dr. Spencer, and I hope thats not the way
it was interpreted, Mr. Cuomo said. He was a hero. I mean, these people
go, leave this country, go to West Africa to help people with a terrible
disease. He added: I think what he did was great.
For his part, Mr. de Blasio continued to defend Dr. Spencer while speaking
to reporters on Saturday, calling him a soldier who goes into battle to
protect us.
The mayor played down the lack of notice city officials received from Mr.
Cuomo, a Democrat, and Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, a Republican,
before they ordered that travelers exposed to the virus be quarantined upon
arriving at Newark Liberty International and Kennedy International Airports,
despite opposition from many medical experts.
In an atmosphere of crisis, we respect the chain of command, Mr. de
Blasio, a Democrat, said.
When the city health commissioner, Dr. Mary T. Bassett, was asked what she
thought of the quarantine order, Mr. de Blasio stepped in, saying, This is
not about personalities.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued its own statement on
Saturday expressing support for health care workers like Dr. Spencer and
Kaci Hickox, a nurse being held in quarantine at a hospital in Newark after
returning from treating Ebola patients Sierra Leone, even though tests
showed she did not have the virus.
The epidemic there wont end without them, and without their work, the U.S.
will be at increased risk, the C.D.C. said. We must protect their health,
safety and well-being and treat them with respect when they return home
while continuing to take action to protect Americans so Ebola does not
spread here.
Thé Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni, Ssabassajja and Dr. Kiiza Besigye, Uganda is in
anarchy"
Kuungana Mulindwa Mawasiliano Kikundi
"Pamoja na Yoweri Museveni, Ssabassajja na Dk. Kiiza Besigye, Uganda ni
katika machafuko"
_______________________________________________
Ugandanet mailing list
[email protected]
http://kym.net/mailman/listinfo/ugandanet
UGANDANET is generously hosted by INFOCOM http://www.infocom.co.ug/
All Archives can be found at http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/
The above comments and data are owned by whoever posted them (including
attachments if any). The List's Host is not responsible for them in any way.
---------------------------------------
