Except everything is going wrong and contributing to an atmosphere of fear, hyperbole and loathing throughout the United States.
To be clear, ebola in and of itself does not scare me as much as the federal government's "handling" of it at so many levels that does scare me.
First off, it is not like this latest incarnation of ebola was not going to go beyond the so-called Hot Zone. With the ease of air travel, passenger ship travel being more affordable than ever, and just the fact that it already was in three African nations (Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone), it was just a matter of time before the viral, hemorrhagic disease was going to come to the United States.
And in no surprise, it came in the person of one Thomas Eric Duncan, a citizen of Liberia who came to the United States on an airplane from the Liberian capital, Monrovia, by Brussels, Belgium. Mr. Duncan went to Texas Health Presbyterian hospital on September 25 and was giving anti-biotic and sent on his way. Even though Mr. Duncan told anyone who would listen that he just came from Liberia. Mr. Duncan returned to THPH three days later and a more careful examination showed that he did indeed have the dreaded disease. And regrettably, he died on October 9, 2014.
So, here is a problem off the top.
It appears that THPH was not all that prepared for anyone coming in with the possibility of having ebola. It appears that Mr. Duncan went through the emergency room on the initial visit. Ever been to a hospital ER? Unless it is in a small town or non-urban area, they are usually packed to the gills and the staff, even doctors, rush through every thing that they do. And if they had no idea what to look for in a potential ebola patient, sending Mr. Duncan off with anti-biotics does not seem all that bad. At least he was examined.
So, the local Dallas hospital has had problems and are working on getting the protocols in place.
But what is wrong more than anything else is how the federal government has responded to this potential medical crisis.
Well, about as well as can be expected of a government that has no clue and playing on the fly.
Let's go back to when the current elbola outbreak occurred and it is even seen as longer than thought. It appears to have started last year. And the mortality rate in a staggering 71%. And over 9,200 have been recorded to having contracted the disease. Note I said recorded. Who knows how many cases are not recorded.
In other words, the potential of this disease spreading beyond the Hot Zone was pretty high.
Had the administration simply acknowledged this say six months ago, they could have quietly implemented such things as a ban on travel to and from the hot zone and screening those that have come to the United States by way of a third nation. And also to send doctors to the Hot Zone to try harder to contain the spread of ebola.
Now we are sending 3,000 United States soldiers to Western Africa to fight ebola. What will they do? Machine-gun their way out of ebola?!
No, they have decided to bob and weave. First, no chance that ebola will hit the United States. Wrong. That even if it does there are ways in place that it will not spread. Wrong. That a travel ban will do more harm than good. Wrong. Ask Nigeria. They have been able to all but eradicated ebola and a part of that is a travel ban to and from affected nations.
Ineptitude is the real story here. One way the administration could have done a better job is having someone who can explain everything in a coherent way. To be honest with the American people. To admit that yes, there is a possibility that ebola could, could become an airborne virus and then what can be done.
So, the Keystone Kops think a Democrat party operative, Ron Klain, can get everything together.
Too bad the dude can't even make the first two meetings of essentially the task force that Mr. Klain was named to lead.
UGH!
The bottom line is that a disease that has a currently staggering 71% death rate was minimized when it was known to be a potential danger a year ago. And is keeps going on from worse to worse.
Is there anyone that can get us out of this mess?
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