Ebola Watch

Here are to a greater extent than or less random thoughts nearly Ebola.  Remember when it used to last inwards the headlines?

A friend wrote:

I latterly read Jose Saramago’s fictional 1997 novel, Blindness, inwards which majority hysteria ensues equally an inexplicable epidemic of white blindness sweeps through a town. Widespread panic marches through the community. The government, inwards an essay to command the contagion, reacts past times enacting increasingly repressive too ineffective measures. Victims are quarantined inwards a derelict asylum nether armed guard, too left largely to fend for themselves. Social social club breaks downward chop-chop both within the crowded, filthy asylum too exterior of it, inwards the community, equally people start to process 1 to a greater extent than or less other amongst fearfulness too suspicion. The breakdown of social infrastructure too basic decencies leads to fifty-fifty worse afflictions. It is a remarkably prescient concern human relationship of how humans react to something that scares us. 

Another friend who has been working on the front end lines of Ebola planning too response humorously noted that the most pregnant advance inwards rational American preparedness for the affliction occurred on Nov 5.  Why? This was the solar daytime afterward election day. My friend noted that the bad demeanour of several governors, most notably Chris Christie too Andrew Cuomo, had simultaneously made outcasts of the extremely dedicated wellness attention workers who had volunteered inwards Africa too unnecessarily raised undue concern amidst the American populace equally to the actual danger to the U.S.A. population.  It remains unreported whether the governors had read Saramago's book.

Meanwhile, remember that the federal authorities originally designated nether ii dozen hospitals nationwide to get got Ebola patients.  Here's the map from October.  But many places felt left out--both for reasons of ego too finance (i.e, looking for a portion of the multi-billion emergency appropriation, including $166 meg for infirmary preparedness too support).  So past times December, at that spot were 35 designated hospitals (with to a greater extent than to come--at to the lowest degree 1 inwards each the world suggests the President, counting votes inwards the Congress.)  I'm certain the list, though, is based but on a logistical too scientific decision of need.

Wait, did I advert the total of requested funding, over $6 billion?  Here's the page amongst the CDC illustration counts, both for the U.S.A. too abroad.  Fewer than 20,000 cases worldwide, too 4 inwards the US.

Let's compare this to another, ongoing populace wellness hazard. This site notes:

In American hospitals alone, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that infirmary acquired infections (HAIs) concern human relationship for an estimated 1.7 meg infections too 99,000 associated deaths each year. 

How does the U.S.A. authorities response to the postulate for preparation too procedure improvement inwards this arena? By penalizing hospitals, especially those amongst the sickest too poorest patients:

An analysis of the penalties that doctor Ashish Jha, a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, conducted for KHN establish that penalties were assessed against 32 percentage of the hospitals amongst the sickest patients. Only 12 percentage of hospitals amongst the to the lowest degree complex cases were punished. Hospitals amongst the poorest patients were too to a greater extent than probable to last penalized, Jha found. A 4th of the nation’s publicly owned hospitals, which oft are the security internet for poor, sick people, are beingness punished.

Priorities? Even Saramago would last unable to write a fictional concern human relationship that is to a greater extent than foreign than reality.

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