2 possible EBOLA patients on MAGIC

[Cruise4Music]

I think you should all just hide under your beds in a Hazmat suit and be done with it. Hysteria is a scary thing.

Edited October 17, 2014 by Cruise4Music

[kingoftheicedragons]

The cruising health care worker wouldn't hear of the travel ban to self quarantine, they don't air negative news stories on cruise TVs..

 

The cruise line doesn't have control over what is aired on the news. Some Carnival ships will show Good Morning America on the big screen on Lido (at least two of my cruises had this), or they will have CNN on TVs actually in the dining area of Lido (one cruise). Even without those options, I believe you can still get CNN on your stateroom TV, or some sort of national (ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox) channel which will show news.

 

Not only that, but it's also possible that this person's family/friends/colleagues contacted her regarding the travel ban.

 

Personally, if the person wasn't sick, had no fever or other symptoms, and was asymptomatic for 19 days, then I think the whole situation was blown out of proportion, and Belize I believe behaved inappropriately in this situation.

[LambKnuckles]

It's on the networks and now John Heald has commented... as noted on this page...

 

So we're hearing no symptoms from him and a couple news sources are say slight fever...

 

Prayers and wishes for the worker and all on board!!!

Edited October 17, 2014 by LambKnuckles

[Seago2]

Here is the NY Times link to the story: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/18/us/ebola-cruise-ship-dallas.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=HpHeadline&module=a-lede-package-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

 

Has anyone heard about cruise pax being on the flight Amber Vinson took to Dallas that then continued to FLL? Does anyone have a link to that?

[moxie99]

Hell No! From all I am seeing the guest self quarantined herself - good for her!

[cruisecritiquer]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/10/17/cruise-ship-carrying-texas-ebola-nurse-refused-entry-in-belize/

 

By Lindsey Bever and Fred Barbash

 

October 17 at 2:32 AM

 

A Texas health-care worker who “may have” handled lab specimens from Ebola victim Thomas Eric Duncan has been isolated in a cabin on board a commercial cruise ship in the Caribbean, according to U.S. Department of State. And Belize Coast Guard won’t let the vessel or any of its thousands of passengers into port.

 

The Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital employee and a partner boarded the ship Oct. 12 in Galveston, Tex., before the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated the requirement for active monitoring, the State Department said in a statement. Although the worker is showing no symptoms of the disease, the U.S. government is working with the cruise line to get the ship back to America “out of an abundance of caution.”

 

The employee, who has not been named, did not come into direct contact with Duncan, the first patient diagnosed with Ebola in the United States. However, he or she may have been exposed to his clinical specimens.

 

“It has been 19 days since the passenger may have processed” Duncan’s fluid samples, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement Friday morning. “The cruise line has actively supported CDC’s efforts to speak with the individual, whom the cruise ship’s medical doctor has monitored and confirmed was in good health. Following this examination, the hospital employee and traveling partner have voluntarily remained isolated in a cabin.”

 

Neither the State Department nor an Associated Press report quoting unnamed White House officials confirmed where exactly the ship was or which cruise line was operating it. However, Belizean news reports state that the cruise ship Carnival Magic was being kept offshore after the government of Belize learned that a U.S. hospital worker on board may have been exposed to Ebola. The government assured its citizens that the health-care professional “never set foot in Belize.”

 

“The Government of Belize was contacted today by officers of the U.S. Government and made aware of a cruise ship passenger considered of very low risk for Ebola,” the government of Belize said Thursday in a statement. “Nonetheless, out of an abundance of caution, the Government of Belize decided not to facilitate a U.S. request for assistance in evacuating the passenger through the Phillip Goldson International Airport.”

 

Duncan died at the Dallas hospital Oct. 8. It’s not certain what kind of lab specimen the hospital worker may have handled. Ebola is transmitted through bodily fluids such as vomit, urine, saliva, sweat, feces, breast milk and semen. And it’s clear what, if any, protective gear he or she was not wearing at the time of contact.

 

In this Oct. 8, 2014 file photo, a sign points to the entrance to the emergency room at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas, where U.S. Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan died. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

The announcement comes amid growing concerns after two nurses who cared for Duncan tested positive for Ebola. Nina Pham was diagnosed Oct. 11, just three days after Duncan died from the disease. She was flown Thursday night to the National Institutes of Health hospital in Bethesda, M.D. after delivering an upbeat but tearful greeting via video.

 

Amber Vinson was diagnosed with Ebola earlier this week – a day after she flew with a fever on a Frontier Airlines flight from Cleveland back to Dallas. Since then, the CDC has contacted the 132 passengers who rode with her. However, officials said Thursday she may have shown symptoms as many as four days before they initially indicated. Now the CDC is busy tracking all passengers who were on her first flight to Ohio last week.

 

Pham and Vinson were among nearly 100 workers who cared for Duncan in the Dallas hospital. Psaki said that as part of the CDC’s contract trace investigation, it was discovered that another employee of the Dallas hospital had left the country on a cruise ship.

 

At the time the worker boarded the ship, CDC protocol called for “self-monitoring,” including daily temperature checks. Psaki said the person has been following those instructions since Oct. 6.

 

“Today, every person at Texas Health Dallas who has had contact with a known Ebola patient is under active monitoring for 21 days after their last contact with the patient,” Dr. Daniel Varga, the chief clinical officer for Texas Health Resources, which oversees Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, said in a statement.

[fragilek]

From John Heald

 

John Heald Good morning. ......We are in close contact with the CDC and at this time it has been determined that the appropriate course of action is to simply keep the guest in isolation on board.

3 mins · Like

 

Yip after they tried to get them off and failed....As the last part only gives half the true picture it leads people to question the rest of the statement.

 

I wish organisations would be more transparent - I think we could have more faith in them then.

 

However, if this person is an lab worker the risk should be minimum as they will be completely trained in biohazards (I am a former lab scientist).

[chengkp75]

I agree with the last poster. If the lab worker knew it was the ebola virus that he/she was handling, he/she should have taken care and not boarded the ship. Now, everyone on that ship is potentially infected because though the person quarantined in the cabin, stewards still need to come and go plus food needs to be brought in, prior to the quarantine. What was this person thinking? Reckless? And can the person be a carrier without contracting the virus? Things to think about.

 

According to all reports, the person is not showing any symptoms, so is not contagious. So, no, you can't be a carrier without contracting the virus.

[luvtheships]

I trust Carnival will take the correct steps and I'd sail on the next cruise in a heartbeat.

 

That's assuming she test negative

 

If it is positive it will be many weeks before that ship sails again

 

Wouldn't surprise me if they quarantine the entire boatload until her tests come back

 

 

This is really really bad and probably overkill but who knows?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[cruisecritiquer]

These are my personal thoughts and I didn't start this thread to start arguments because I realize there are strong emotions on both sides and I realize that these hospital workers made sacrifices to help others and they ought to be commemorated for that.

 

1. Ground flights from West Africa. There are virtually no direct flights from West Africa to the US -- they almost always connect in Europe, so we need to work with the EU to quarantine any suspected cases.

 

2. We need to close our borders, particularly the southern border until the last Ebola case has played itself out. Ebola would be easy to spread if there were cases in South and Central America.

 

3. Enforce quarantines of suspected cases and have a third party monitor hospital workers instead of this self-monitoring which could go terribly wrong if someone is in denial about the disease.

 

4. Set up large isolation units in local hospitals, gather a group of doctors and nurses who are willing to work in the quarantine ward and therefore be quarantined themselves. An SOP for all hospitals needs to be created and enforced.

 

5. Finally we should continue to send aid and assistance to West Africa, utilizing chartered flights to minimize the impact of Ebola on the population when the aid workers return.

 

Some of these things may seem extreme and would undoubtedly interfere with our cruise addictions but these measures may become necessary if they aren't necessary already.

 

Thoughts? Rebuttals? I am open to hearing others' opinions and invite a dialogue.

Edited October 17, 2014 by cruisecritiquer

[oceanseagle12]

Hell No! From all I am seeing the guest self quarantined herself - good for her!

 

Sailing in 3 weeks, and I will be onboard! :D

[winddawn]

ABC News is showing that Carnival is acknowledging the situation:

 

"Carnival Cruise Line released a statement today acknowledging the situation, stating that the hospital employee is deemed to be "very low risk" to contract the deadly virus."

 

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/hospital-worker-handled-ebola-samples-caribbean-cruise/story?id=26263642

[luvtheships]

It's on the networks and now John Heald has commented... as noted on this page...

 

So we're hearing no symptoms from him and a couple news sources are say slight fever...

 

Prayers and wishes for the worker and all on board!!!

 

Slight fever? Oh no. The Cleveland nurse had a slight fever too

 

Gut feeling is she will be negative

 

The African guy in the Virginia jail with a fever tested negative

 

As did the Yale med student recently back from Sierra Leone

 

Prayers answered

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[mom22tinks]

The cruising health care worker wouldn't hear of the travel ban to self quarantine, they don't air negative news stories on cruise TVs..

 

They certainly do... During the sandy hook shooting it was all over the jumbo tron.

[cruisecritiquer]

Official Statement from Carnival:

 

I wanted to make sure that we clear something up as I see some of you are asking. Here is our official statement. Cheers

 

Late afternoon on Wednesday, Oct. 15., we were made aware by the U.S. CDC of a guest sailing this week on board Carnival Magic who is a lab supervisor at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital. At no point in time has the individual exhibited any symptoms or signs of infection and it has been 19 days since she was in the lab with the testing samples. She is deemed by CDC to be very low risk. At this time, the guest remains in isolation on board the ship and is not deemed to be a risk to any guests or crew. It is important to reiterate that the individual has no symptoms and has been isolated in an extreme abundance of caution. We are in close contact with the CDC and at this time it has been determined that the appropriate course of action is to simply keep the guest in isolation on board.

[earlbird]

These are my personal thoughts and I didn't start this thread to start arguments because I realize there are strong emotions on both sides and I realize that these hospital workers made sacrifices to help others and they ought to be commemorated for that.

 

1. Ground flights from West Africa. There are virtually no direct flights from West Africa to the US -- they almost always connect in Europe, so we need to work with the EU to quarantine any suspected cases.

 

2. We need to close our borders, particularly the southern border until the last Ebola case has played itself out. Ebola would be easy to spread if there were cases in South and Central America.

 

3. Enforce quarantines of suspected cases and have a third party monitor hospital workers instead of this self-monitoring which could go terribly wrong if someone is in denial about the disease.

 

4. Set up large isolation units in local hospitals, gather a group of doctors and nurses who are willing to work in the quarantine ward and therefore be quarantined themselves. An SOP for all hospitals needs to be created and enforced.

 

5. Finally we should continue to send aid and assistance to West Africa, utilizing chartered flights to minimize the impact of Ebola on the population when the aid workers return.

 

Some of these things may seem extreme and would undoubtedly interfere with our cruise addictions but these measures may become necessary if they aren't necessary already.

 

Thoughts? Rebuttals? I am open to hearing others' opinions and invite a dialogue.

 

These five points all sound great, and I completely agree - especially with #1 and #2.

[LambKnuckles]

Slight fever? Oh no. The Cleveland nurse had a slight fever too

 

Gut feeling is she will be negative

 

The African guy in the Virginia jail with a fever tested negative

 

As did the Yale med student recently back from Sierra Leone

 

Prayers answered

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

So right... Nothing is confirmed about it being a REAL case! And with all the unknowns and the media... I can't imagine how that worker feels and the crew and the rest of the guests on this cruise...

 

I know and believe CARNIVAL is doing everything humanly possible. And we should all be cautious -- but until it's confirmed -- let's not panic!

[aggie182]

 

......Personally I think this is an interesting blend of caution and hysteria......

 

I agree.

[$hip$hape]

Blame the hospital as they knew perfectly well the threat they were dealing with. Their total incompetence and ignorance in not staging a quarantine for anyone that had anything to do with the patient is what got us here.

 

That hospital knows they screwed up big time with their arrogant attitude of "it could never happen to us".

They are in the hot seat now, they knew exactly what they were dealing with period. Let me guess, the patient was sent home first time cuz maybe no insurance? Hmmmm....ah yes, always comes down to money, yeah don't kid yourself, they knew exactly what they were doing and why.....

...reminds me of Richard Preston's book published in 1994 :

The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story is a best-selling non-fiction thriller about the origins and incidents involving viral hemorrhagic fevers,

particularly ebolaviruses and marburgviruses. The basis of the book was Preston's 1992 New Yorker article "Crisis in the Hot Zone".

He concludes the book by saying EBOV will be back.

Edited October 17, 2014 by $hip$hape

[fragilek]

According to all reports, the person is not showing any symptoms, so is not contagious. So, no, you can't be a carrier without contracting the virus.

 

 

Just to get the science correct-

 

This has nothing to do with ebola on this ship but researches are working to clarify if you can have the virus and be non symptomatic- at the moment the majority of evidence points towards this not being the case but in July a few studies did suggest this to be possible (some antibodies have been discovered in the blood of people who have never shown signs of having had the virus)- further work is being carried out in this area at the moment - More info should be available by January which will clarify this. However, the current thinking is that these people were exposed to very low levels of the virus , and probably from a previous outbreak. Scientist are actually looking at this as a positive and are investigating the immunity of these pre exposed people as a way forward in combating ebola. The thinking is that this cannont happen in non exposed regions

[pully8]

there is so much misinformation and evidence of people testing positive after exposure, albeit so far health care workers.

differing info about incubation periods and suggestion that there are more than 1 strain of ebola.

facts will help. facts and no attempts to minimise the potential of further infection. vomiting on planes/ships is not uncommon. we all need to be cautious.

[fragilek]

there is so much misinformation and evidence of people testing positive after exposure, albeit so far health care workers.

differing info about incubation periods and suggestion that there are more than 1 strain of ebola.

facts will help. facts and no attempts to minimise the potential of further infection. vomiting on planes/ships is not uncommon. we all need to be cautious.

 

different incubation periods for any virus (same strain) is not uncommon - this is due to differing immunities of patients and of how each persons body responds to attack - nothing to do with the actual virus

 

There are several main strains of Ebola (active in the last 25 years) however, this one is so far only found to have been caused by one strain. On saying that the further away from source it travels then the more likely it will be to mutate (but this is a single strand RNA so should not become airborne)

Edited October 17, 2014 by fragilek

[yankee 7]

Concerning.......

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/18/us/ebola-cruise-ship-dallas.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=HpHeadline&module=a-lede-package-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

[Sharonlee912]

So, all this being said, would you still sail on the Magic this Sunday?!

[Podna's]

So, all this being said, would you still sail on the Magic this Sunday?!

 

 

Absolutely!