Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Ebola: common sense vs. entitlement

When does government feel compelled to step in, strip personal rights and liberty? When a sense of entitlement overrides common sense. Duncan had very close contact with a person actively dying of ebola; in spite of knowing the chances (or perhaps because of that knowledge) of being infected, he boarded a plane to the US and exposed a whole new country. The medical staff followed constantly changing protocols while caring for the actively dying Duncan. Now two of them have tested positive, and many more have been exposed. Because Duncan felt entitled to travel. That's the first tier of exposure.

Second tier of exposure comes with the second nurse's choice to fly during the 21 day incubation period instead of self-quarantining until certain she wasn't infected. She exposed an entire plane full of innocent people. Second tier. Okay, yes, most of them didn't come in contact with any of her bodily fluids unless she used the lavatory. But we're talking an enclosed ventilation system and a CDC who is pretty, almost, sorta sure it's not airborne. We hope.

And it gets better, or worse, depending on your perspective. The plane made several more flights AFTER the nurse's flight to Dallas and before being decontaminated. The CDC is urging passengers from the Cleveland to Dallas flight as well as the following flights to contact them immediately.

Dallas to Cleveland – Frontier flight 2042
Cleveland to Ft. Lauderdale – Frontier flight 1104
Ft. Lauderdale to Cleveland – Frontier flight 1105
Cleveland to Atlanta – Frontier flight 1101 (landed in Atlanta at 9:07 p.m.)
Atlanta to Cleveland – Frontier flight 1100 (left Atlanta at 9:57 p.m.)
Thanks to Wisco for the link.
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11 comments:

  1. wirecutterOctober 15, 2014 at 1:45 PM

    Well, I just found out a couple of hours ago that I don't have Ebola, but if I did I'd go around hugging and kissing everybody I hate and tell them that I forgive them.
    Might as well kill two birds with one stone - clear your conscious and kill your enemies in one shot.

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  2. AnonymousOctober 15, 2014 at 1:49 PM

    Gosh, I love Wirecutter's logic!

    -CM

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  3. AnonymousOctober 15, 2014 at 1:59 PM

    "But we're talking an enclosed ventilation system and a CDC who is pretty, almost, sorta sure it's not airborne."
    No, not really. You are really breathing jet engine bleed air that has been cooled in an air cycle machine. Jets after the DC-8 and B-707 era. The breathing recycled air is a common myth.
    Will post a reference next.
    Terry
    Fla.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousOctober 15, 2014 at 2:01 PM

    Reference
    https://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060804172332AALYuze

    Terry
    Fla.

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  5. hiswiserangelOctober 15, 2014 at 2:01 PM

    So the germs we cough/sneeze out go to the jet engines and get expelled into the atmosphere or obliterated?

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  6. AnonymousOctober 15, 2014 at 2:04 PM

    No, the old air either leaks out (you wouldn't believe) or is is exhausted through an outflow valve.
    T
    F

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  7. AnonymousOctober 15, 2014 at 2:07 PM

    But your bigger point is right on. Plain stupid action by all involved.
    T
    F

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  8. hiswiserangelOctober 15, 2014 at 2:11 PM

    It's immediately sucked out? or it floats around the cabin until it leaks out or is sucked out? How long does it take to completely replace the air in an airplane cabin? What is the airflow pattern on the way to the outflow valve? Thinking those in seats between the infected passenger and outflow valve would be higher risk. Then you sneeze, the overhead airflow valves blow the droplets around the area, settling on people, seats, etc.

    Just, stay the fuck off of mass transit for 21 days, yeah?

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  9. wirecutterOctober 15, 2014 at 2:21 PM

    My, isn't Angel huffy today...

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  10. AnonymousOctober 15, 2014 at 2:24 PM

    You studying for your A&P? It goes out the vents at floor level then through the leaks. The outflow valve is modulated by the pressurization control system. The engine bleed air is really hot and cooled in the ACM(air cycle machine). There are two systems at work, cooling and pressurization.
    I am pretty rusty on this stuff. My specialty was avionics (aircraft electronics). Long ago.

    And I have a general rule about staying off mass transit.

    T
    F

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  11. AnonymousOctober 15, 2014 at 8:43 PM

    Best buy a truckload of salt if you are going to listen to the CDC on this. They have no clue and spout nothing but happy gas.

    May well not be airborne in the same sense the flu and common cold are airborne transmission, but generating aerosols small enough to penetrate into deep lung and all points before is pretty easy to do.

    Aerosols enter the resp tract and research has shown Ebola can do it. A P95 mask means nothing here. The ease of transmission combined with severity is why this thing is classified as a level 4 agent.

    Stay away and stay healthy. Soon the "Have you been to West Africa?" is going to be totally irrelevant.

    Winston

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Play nice. None of you are too old for a spanking.