Doctor: Ebola Might Be Transmitted In Air Via “Droplets”
October 15, 2014 1:11 PM
Related Tags: cdc, Center For Disease Control, Dr. Jane Orient, Ebola, Ebola CBSDFW, President Barack Obama, Tom Frieden
ChuckSchechner
Doctor: Ebola Might Be Transmitted In Air Via DropletsBikini Models Because We're Missing Summer
Follow CBSDFW.COM: Facebook | Twitter
DALLAS (KRLD) — The executive director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons says that despite what the CDC is saying, Ebola might be transmitted by breathing.
“What we’re suggesting is that it is very dangerous to assume that one cannot ever acquire Ebola from an aerosol or from breathing,” said Dr. Jane Orient.
Two healthcare workers at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas have now been infected with the disease, despite insisting that protocol was followed. Dr. Orient won’t rule out an airborne infection.
Complete Coverage Of Ebola In North Texas
When a patient vomits, has diarrhea, undergoes medical procedures, or even flushes the toilet, “there’s just a cloud that contains pathogen virus particles,” says Dr. Orient.
Dr. Orient says that when an aerosol dries up, droplet nuclei remain suspended in the air for a long time. A recent research study suggests that Ebola could remain infectious in an aerosol for more than an hour.
The droplets are “just too small” to be captured by standard medical masks, says Dr. Orient. A possible solution? Powered, air-purifying respirators for healthcare workers.
“In the laboratory, you actually breath air from the outside, which means you’re either tethered to your air supply or maybe you carry something like a scuba tank that has air that does not come from the room.”
Dr. Orient’s findings directly contradict what the CDC has been saying. They also contradict statments made by President Barack Obama.
Speaking in a video message to the people of West Africa last month, President Obama provided advice on how residents can avoid Ebola. The first step: know the facts.
“First, Ebola is not spread through the air like the flu,” said President Obama. “You cannot get it from casual contact like sitting next to someone on a bus.”
Thomas Frieden, director of the CDC, vetted the message on Wednesday, calling it “accurate”.
“If you’re a member of the traveling public and are healthy, should you be worried that you might have got it by sitting next to someone? And the answer is no.”
However, Frieden did say that Ebola patients do pose a risk if they become ill, which could “expose” those around him.
Dr. Orient also takes issue with the CDC’s conclusion that a person is not infectious until symptoms are present.
“Maybe they are even more contagious before they get symptoms, such as in influenza,” says Dr. Orient. “How can we be sure that Ebola is any different? We certainly don’t have any experimental evidence for it. How do you even know if someone will come down with Ebola five days from now so that you can test if they’re transmitting the virus now?”
Dr. Orient has submitted testimony that will be read at a CDC hearing on Thursday.
http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2014/10/15/doctor-ebola-might-be-transmitted-by-air/
