Ebola in Spain: It has started to spread within.

alexwalker said:

I do not want to scare anybody, but:

Yesterday a nurse was isolated with Ebola i Madrid, having gotten it while nursing a priest (who died) brought back from Africa. It is reported that all the Spanish nurses used safety suits class 2 (not dangerous), while they should have worn suits class 4 (top level, for the most dangerous diseases, like Ebola). Now 3 more persons have been infected by her, and 30 more are put under observation.

Problem is, she didn't go to the hospital when she felt the symptoms: For 3-4 days she was out on her own in Madrid after the symptoms appeared. So what now?

This is the first case where spreading of the disease does not come from Africa, but from sick people inside Europe.

Also, today we received back in Oslo, Norway, a Norw. nurse with Ebola. She is in intensive care, but now it is here in Norway too. What's more: My city, in the Arctic, has been selected as one of 4 entry points in Norway for Ebola patients, should it be needed. It is not a big town, 70.000 people. I do not feel good about this... Maybe buy a lot of canned food and go to my cottage for a couple of months?

No, better relax, but it is starting to not looking good...

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jefferyonthecamino said:

reporting from madrid (where i live).

ebola is no laughing matter and apparently the incident till now has not been dealt with correctly (no desire to get into a political debate on this forum). that said, the chances of getting ebola (even for us in madrid) is fairly slim if you consider that in all of western africa there have been around 3500 deaths and around 8000 infected in a population of around 20.000.000. now consider the dramatic differences in health, hygiene and care between western africa and spain.
hopefully, the ebola debate, now that it's a reality for europeans and spaniards, will now focus on the much needed aid for these african countries. that said, for those really concerned, start counting 21 days as from yesterday as that is the maximum incubation period.

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William Garza said:

Dallas, Texas A man is dying in isolation of a strain of Ebola. sad, but there may be hope yet, a glimmer
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2014/10/07/dallas-ebola-patient-receives-experimental-drug-chimerix/

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TerryB said:

Thank you Jeffrey, it would seem that there has been some lapse in bio-security. I understand from the Spanish press that the nursing assistant thought she had rubbed her face with her gloves when taking off the protective suit.
Keep things in perspective though! The World Health Organization estimates that in 2012, there were 207 million cases of malaria. That year, the disease is estimated to have killed between 473,000 and 789,000 people, many of whom were children in Africa. The same source says that there are about 10,000 malaria cases per year in Western Europe, and 1300–1500 in the United States. About 900 people died from the disease in Europe between 1993 and 2003.
This too shall pass!

Blessings
Tio Tel

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t2andreo said:

I would suggest that no one change their Camino plans on account of the few, sporadic, widely separated and largely anecdotal reports of Ebola or Marburg virus outbreaks in Europe. But, I would advise purchasing medical trip insurance, as a just-in-case measure. I did this last year. It was well worth the added expense. I got mine through the airline as an add-on to my ticket.

The situation surrounding the Madrid Ebola issue is well understood. The authorities there, as in the US will learn from their mistakes surrounding the first case or two, and will take necessary action to protect their populace.

The saddest aspect to the Madrid case is that the local authorities apparently got a court order to euthanize the unfortunate woman's pet dog, just-in-case the dog contracted the virus. No proof was sought, although blood tests are available. They just decided to put the poor animal to sleep.

In other countries, such as Norway, France, the UK, etc., the issue surrounds the repatriation of one or more citizens who contracted the disease while serving as a health care or relief worker in one of the affected areas. Each of these situations is VERY tightly controlled. True, the authorities in Spain may have made several errors concerning protecting their workers and overall safety protocols. However, I am confident they will correct their procedures and move forward.

Given all the known facts about how one can contract this nasty virus and from who, I suggest that being on Camino is likely one of the safest places you can be at present. Just take extra care for personal sanitation, wash your hands as often as you can and keep your hands away from your face, eyes, and mouth and you should be okay.

Just avoid "icky" stuff from others... and be aware of tables, counters, bathroom fixtures, etc. The virus needs an open wound or a mucus membrane as a pathway to infect you.

Yes, it is that easy to avoid infection, at least until and unless the virus happens to mutate to spread through other means. But ALL discussion of THAT is just speculative at present (08 October).

Just as an FYI, on both my past Caminos (2013 and 2014) my personal medical kit included one paper / cloth surgical face mask and two pairs of disposable nitrile gloves. These items were kept in a separate lightweight sandwich sized ziplock bag until needed. They can be purchased at most any drug store / pharmacy or online.

Also, and just as an aside, I always carry a small supply of powdered rehydration salts in individual servings that can be mixed with safe water in the event of any gastrointestinal disease. I have given these to others along the way during both my Caminos. I bought mine on the baby care product aisle in my local supermarket. There are also adult rehydration salts sold in individual serving packets.

Believe it or not, the nitrile gloves were used to care for other person's wounds on both Caminos. The mask is more of a just-in-case, especially when flying home. Heck, it is easier to catch the flu or any respiratory disease than any of these nasties...

The bottom line is that there is no need for alarm, fear, or even serious concern...yet. Until and unless we have sudden outbreak among the general population, involving more than one person confirmed as having the virus, I would not do anything but try to remain informed.

This said, my advice, based on two Caminos experience, and out of an abundance of caution, is to revisit what you pack in your personal medical kit. Other than that, just relax and enjoy your pilgrimage.

I hope this helps someone...

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alexwalker said:

I did not mean to scare anyone by starting this thread, but the fact, as we have seen, is that this is a disease that can easily spread all over the world by infected people going on intl. flights in hours. And it is clearly more easy to be smitten that what is being told.. It is a completely different beast than malaria, traffic accidents, etc.

That said, of course there is no problem walking any of the Caminos, or living in Madrid, nor is it a problem that we in Norway (or in USA) now have patients with the disease. But it can soon be really epidemic in Africa, because it is out of control at the moment according to experts, and with intl. travels, it may soon pop up anyhere.

But I have a suspicion also that this Ebola stuff is a godsent for the media and their sales...

Update: http://edition.cnn.com/2014/10/08/health/ebola-us/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

This is not entirely correct: http://edition.cnn.com/2014/10/02/travel/ebola-risk-travelers/index.html

A cough can send viruses 20 m (60 foot) away, and if you inhale you could be in trouble. If it is so difficult to be infected, why the hysteria of masks and suits? I suspect governments are performing panic control...?

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