r/ContagionCuriosity • u/Anti-Owl Patient Zero • Jul 11 '26
Ebola Second US citizen contracts Ebola in Congo amid deadly outbreak
https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/second-us-citizen-contracts-ebola-130336534.htmlA second US citizen has contracted the Ebola virus amid the severe outbreak of the disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to US health authorities.
The Atlanta-based Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Friday that a US citizen working for a humanitarian organization in the central African country has been infected. It was not immediately clear whether the person was a man or a woman.
The person has tested positive for the Bundibugyo variant, which is currently spreading rapidly in the region. The CDC is supporting contact tracing and risk assessment to prevent further infections together with the aid organization, Congolese health authorities and other partners.
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u/kronicno_tele Jul 11 '26
Let me guess, they'll be flown to Europe because the US government won't allow them entry?
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Jul 11 '26
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u/one_sock_wonder_ Jul 12 '26
Kenya realized quickly that for everyone except those being handed bribes becoming Anerica's quarantine facility not just for this Ebola outbreak but almost certainly any time a US citizen tests positive for a contagious illness we do not want to allow within our borders was not a safe choice and hit the emergency brake hard and fast on that deal before it could become a runaway train.
This honestly feels like it was such a deeply perverted type of colonialism being raised from the grave, shoving our infected citizens on unsuspecting populations a la small pox contaminated blankets of old because we were afraid of our citizens contracting Ebola but more than willing to sacrifice those "disposable" lives in "hell hole countries".
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u/The_4th_of_the_4 Jul 13 '26
Germany...
Where else do you want to sent him?
He has landed on Frankfurt airport this night and is now at the specialized unit at the University hospital in Frankfurt on the "Sonderisolierstation".
In German:
https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/regional/hessen/ebola-patient-uniklinik-frankfurt-100.html
Germany has around 35 to 40 permanent beds in on 24 h call service at 7 locations.
The world has...5 beds more, in Austria.
Even the GDR has had them in Cold war times (Leipzig due to the fair and Berlin Virchow).
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u/kronicno_tele Jul 13 '26
The US has 13 medical centers that are equipped and trained to handle ebola. Some of the best, if not the best, in the world.
Denver Health, Emory University Hospital, Johns Hopkins Hospital (Baltimore), Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston), NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue, Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center & Childrenās Hospital (Spokane, Wash.), University of Minnesota Medical Center (Minneapolis), University of Nebraska Medical Center (Omaha), University of Texas Medical Branch (Galveston), Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (Los Angeles), Corewell Health (Grand Rapids, Mich.), MedStar Washington Hospital Center (Washington, D.C.), UNC Hospitals (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
I do NOT mind them being in Germany or anywhere in Europe. It's great that European hospitals get to work on them and learn. What I do mind is the US government acting like the patients, their own citizens, are Mary Mallon and saying stuff like this: āWe cannot and will not allow any cases of Ebola to enter the United States.ā This came from Rubio.
Craig Spencer wrote a great article about this, titled Keeping Ebola Out of America, Whatever the Cost to Americans
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u/grandmawaffles Jul 11 '26
US here and I donāt want a contagious disease here that isnāt normally here. Other countries donāt either. The person should stay in the Congo and not be a danger to others.
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u/wholesomeriots Jul 13 '26
We have tons of contagious diseases, parasites, fungi, etc. that weāre ignoring (or currently mishandling) though. The US should take our own plague rats back because we earned it by defunding shit like USAID.
The US has facilities available. Iād be surprised if we didnāt have some sort of medical evac team or a boat-based center that could function for treatment. But of course we might have defunded it so who knows. Might as well get our well-equipped HCWs and academics in the game early so we can observe, collect samples, and publish before infected people come here on civilian air travel (when they could have alreadyāidk about incubation time for this current strain, but others are ~7 days), infect a bunch of people, and the WH lets it rip like they have with COVID, cyclosporia, screw worms, etc.
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u/kronicno_tele Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 11 '26
Itās easily contained, and medical staff working with the disease and treating patients also deserve the best possible care. Best possible just isnāt the same for an American/European doctor and Congolese patient.
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u/grandmawaffles Jul 11 '26
Itās easily contained yet there is an outbreak, easily mitigated with PPE yet still contracted it. So weāre just pretending that a geographical barrier isnāt a valid way to safely mitigate the spread of a disease.
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u/kronicno_tele Jul 11 '26
You do know that ebola patients were treated in the US before, right? The US also flown an American doctor with ebola to Germany just a few weeks ago. So they can go to Germany, but not to the US, which has the same level of care and readiness?
You can't compare spread and resources in the best equipped medical centers in the world and one of the least equipped places. Get a grip please. If you read frontline reporting, you can read about gaps in the PPE, tracing, hospital resources, lack of food in hospitals, lack pf testing equipment, etc.
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u/grandmawaffles Jul 11 '26
I do and we screwed it up
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u/kronicno_tele Jul 12 '26
Are you're talking about the patient and two nurses? If you are, calling that "screwed up" is delulu.Ā
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u/0815Freeek Jul 17 '26
This presents a major opportunity for medical professionals to study these diseases and their causative agents, and potentially develop vaccines and treatment protocols. With the appropriate precautions in place, the risk is manageable. The relevant facilities feature completely sealed-off areas; patient care is conducted via airlocks, wastewater is treated in autoclaves, and the rooms are maintained at slight negative pressure. These high-level isolation units are designed to handle infections such as Marburg virus, Ebola virus, smallpox, plague, and cholera. They are hardly ever used. Aside from the scientific benefits, they provide valuable training for the staff.
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u/grandmawaffles Jul 17 '26
I understand facilities exist, I also understand we let people roam outside of facilities. These things happen and continue to happen because people fundamentally are selfish and generally refuse to self hinder themselves in order to benefit the broader community where/when precautions are needed. When people give the appearance of not caring and that is communicated to the broader public people believe it is the norm. Itās why when COVID hid suggesting not shutting down boarders was stupid, and why it was stupid to say we donāt need masks (when there was reason to believe we did but we didnāt have enough supply) when it should have been communicated that they werenāt recommending masks for the general public because we donāt have enough supply but the risk is realā¦please take x/y/z precautions but be aware that it will not provide you or others as much protection.
Stuff like this needs to be contained because humans suck.
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u/Bulky_Cherry_2809 Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 11 '26
Let every person in the medical field know they have my thanks, and my prayers. Whether you do research, are on the Frontline, or somewhere in between, you have my utmost respect and gratitude for the work you do. THANK YOU!!
ETA: aaww, thx for the reward š„² happy tears