Fears over Ebola in Boston have heightened after two Massachusetts scares flared up over the Columbus Day weekend. Raised concerns over Ebola in Boston have since prompted holiday press conferences and reverse 911 calls to reassure the public.
The first scare of Ebola in Boston began when a man who had recently traveled to Liberia went to a Braintree clinic with flulike symptoms. Fearing he might have Ebola, a hazmat team came in full response. Fearing he might spread Ebola in Boston, the man was escorted by police to a Boston hospital via ambulance.
Meanwhile, his car had been plastered with orange biohazard signs so people would stay away from the vehicle, reports the Boston Globe.
The second scare of Ebola in Boston took place on Monday after several people on board an Emirates flight from Dubai at Logan International Airport started exhibiting flu-like symptoms, akin to what can be seen of patients with the Ebola virus. A team wearing yellow protective suits was immediately visible surrounding and boarding the aircraft.
The two incidents which struck fears over Ebola in Boston came after news of the first Ebola death in the United States, which took place in Texas. A nurse was also infected after the death.
It might have been incomprehensible that the disease thousands of miles away from the U.S. would get into the country, but not now.
"We have a large outbreak of anxiety and it is as real as the Ebola threat. The chances of getting Ebola are very small, but the public does not see it that way." said William Schaffner, a national infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville.
The two weekend scares of Ebola in Boston were quickly proven unfounded to allay residents' fears. On Monday night, a Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center spokeswoman said they had "determined with certainty" that the Braintree patient is negative of Ebola.
The Boston Public Health Commission also issued a statement on the same night and said that the patients who arrived on the Emirates Flight 237 did "not meet the criteria for any infections of public health concern, including Ebola" or several other diseases.
As public anxiety over Ebola in Boston intensified during the long weekend, public health officials of the city called for a news conference on Monday to assure residents that their hospitals are prepared for actual Ebola cases.
According to the CDC, Ebola is unlike other diseases which can easily be spread through the air or water, therefore Ebola in Boston may be highly unlikely. People need to have had direct physical contact with someone infected or with their bodily fluids. Those infected are also reportedly not contagious until they start showing symptoms.
"This is not something that is going to come at [people] through the air by someone they sat next to on the T who looked perfectly healthy," said Dr. Anita Barry, director of the Infectious Disease Bureau at the Boston Public Health Commission, during a press conference Monday afternoon. "Frankly, they are more at risk from influenza."
City officials also reassured that they are plenty capable of dealing with infectious diseases.
The man who came into Braintree health facility Sunday afternoon and spread fears of Ebola in Boston told the medical staff that he had traveled to Liberia. However, he said he isn't aware if anyone around him had Ebola.
He reportedly complained of severe headaches and muscle aches, consistent with Ebola and other ailments as well. The medical team only based their assumptions on the man's travel history and symptoms.
The clinic's partner, Beth Israel Deaconess, admitted the unidentified man. Infectious disease specialists quickly examined him and concluded that he was at an extremely low risk for having Ebola, according to the Boston Public Health Commission.
He had since been kept in isolation and on Monday evening, the hospital definitively ruled out the disease and stated Ebola in Boston is not possible since the man already remains in good condition.
"This patient does not appear to meet CDC criteria to be considered someone at high risk for Ebola and the likelihood of Ebola Virus Disease is extremely low," the hospital said to Reuters via an email statement.
However, Mayor Joseph C. Sullivan of Braintree said many in town were still worried that the patient might have spread Ebola in Boston to the residents moments before he was transported to the hospital.
"The news has created significant Braintree buzz. Residents "were concerned about the safety of their family and their neighbours," said Sullivan.
Other fears akin to Ebola in Boston anxieties have swept the country recently.
Friday last week, a plane was briefly quarantined at a Las Vegas Airport after a passenger felt "unwell."
On Sunday, officials said a United Airlines flight from John F. Kennedy Airport in New York landed at an isolated terminal at Los Angeles International Airport when a passenger started running a fever and vomited. The passenger reportedly went on a visit to Africa.
It turns out that the female passenger had visited South Africa, an area of minimal concern for Ebola.
On Monday, a judge reportedly blocked the shipment of incinerated items to a Louisiana landfill. The incineration of the items belonging to Thomas Eric Duncan, the first Ebola patient in the US, was blocked at the request of the state's attorney general.
On the same day, public health officials emphasized that the disease is unlikely to be contracted by incidental contact. The CDC said even handshakes poses "low-risk exposure" to Ebola.
The heightened fears of Ebola in Boston, or the disease in general, is likely due to a misunderstanding of how the virus is spread and contracted, according to Barry.
"Education is a key thing that we are doing right now. The public needs to know how Ebola is spread and not spread. We receive many questions from people concerned about being in close proximity with people who are well and not ill," Barry stated.
Federal health officials also launched a review on Monday regarding procedures on the treatment of infected patients.
Fears over Ebola in Boston cannot be easily allayed especially as the current outbreak has been described by the World Health Organization called the outbreak "the most severe, acute health emergency seen in modern times." Regarded as the deadliest outbreak in history, the disease has already killed more than 4,000 people, mostly in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea in West Africa, reports Reuters.
Health officials have classified suspected cases as high risk, low risk, and no risk as per CDC guidelines, reports Boston.com.
The "risk" breakdown of Ebola according to the CDC are the following:
1. High risk
- Those who have had a needle stick which has been used by an infected person
- Those who have been exposed to the mucous membrane or other bodily fluids of a confirmed Ebola patient without personal protective equipment
- Someone who has had direct skin contact with a person who is contagious, or with a contagious person's remains, without protective equipment
2. Low risk
- Those who have been in the same home as a confirmed Ebola patient
- Those who have had close contact with a patient in health care facilities
3. No risk
- Those who have been to an area where the Ebola outbreak occurred within the past 21 days but had no exposure
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
