Ebola-infected American doctor releases statement from isolation: 'I am growing stronger every day'

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-8401649511726582292" itemprop="description articleBody" style="position: relative; width: 670px;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicBI5tE7qCD4ZKMFtXeozeaspn34_dShdhpaNG_sHZsjpQrkXnfy2VOr-dI0sOXGeO4z3kGrkowMO3b6JYfBBZRRLzjZykg7tBttcbt1lv9YIEB2QR5eeOyWf6OE70zVlmwzj5K-khdj5S/s1600/373801_ebola-virus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicBI5tE7qCD4ZKMFtXeozeaspn34_dShdhpaNG_sHZsjpQrkXnfy2VOr-dI0sOXGeO4z3kGrkowMO3b6JYfBBZRRLzjZykg7tBttcbt1lv9YIEB2QR5eeOyWf6OE70zVlmwzj5K-khdj5S/s1600/373801_ebola-virus.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(255, 255, 255); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="640" /></span></a></div> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Dr. Kent Brantly, the American doctor infected with Ebola released a statement Friday afternoon— his first since being brought back to the U.S.<br /><br />Brantly was working for humanitarian organization Samaritan’s Purse in West Africa, treating Ebola patients at a Liberia hospital when he contracted the deadly virus. On Saturday, August 2, he was flown to Emory University Hospital, where he has been in isolation while receiving care.<br /><br />He released the following statement through Samaritan’s Purse:<br /></span><blockquote class="tr_bq"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“I am writing this update from my isolation room at Emory University Hospital, where the doctors and nurses are providing the very best care possible.  I am growing stronger every day, and I thank God for His mercy as I have wrestled with this terrible disease. I also want to extend my deep and sincere thanks to all of you who have been praying for my recovery as well as for Nancy and for the people of Liberia and West Africa.</span></blockquote> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span><blockquote class="tr_bq"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> "My wife Amber and I, along with our two children, did not move to Liberia for the specific purpose of fighting Ebola. We went to Liberia because we believe God called us to serve Him at ELWA Hospital.  </span></blockquote> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br />"One thing I have learned is that following God often leads us to unexpected places. When Ebola spread into Liberia, my usual hospital work turned more and more toward treating the increasing number of Ebola patients. I held the hands of countless individuals as this terrible disease took their lives away from them. I witnessed the horror firsthand, and I can still remember every face and name.  </span></blockquote> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span><blockquote class="tr_bq"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"When I started feeling ill on that Wednesday morning, I immediately isolated myself until the test confirmed my diagnosis three days later. When the result was positive, I remember a deep sense of peace that was beyond all understanding. God was reminding me of what He had taught me years ago, that He will give me everything I need to be faithful to Him.  </span></blockquote> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span><blockquote class="tr_bq"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"Now it is two weeks later, and I am in a totally different setting. My focus, however, remains the same—to follow God.  As you continue to pray for Nancy and me, yes, please pray for our recovery. More importantly, pray that we would be faithful to God's call on our lives in these new circumstances.”</span></blockquote> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br />Fellow American Nancy Writebol, who was working for U.S. mission group SIM, was also infected with Ebola. She returned to the U.S. Tuesday and is also at Emory receiving treatment.<br /><br />In a press conference August 1st, Emory’s Dr. Bruce Ribner, said this would be the first time a patient with the Ebola virus would be treated in the U.S. and Emory is taking safety precautions seriously.<br /><br />The patients were placed in the hospital’s containment unit, which is discrete from the rest of the hospital.</span><blockquote class="tr_bq"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br />"From the time the air ambulance arrives in the metro Atlanta area, up to and including being hospitalized at Emory University Hospital, we have taken every precaution we know and that our colleagues at the CDC know to ensure no spread of this pathogen," Ribner said.</span></blockquote> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br />The patients are under the care of four infectious disease physicians, including Ribner. At any given time, there are two nurses available for each patient and subspecialists are available if more care is needed. Ribner noted that, at that time, they did not know how long the patients would be under their care, as degrees of illness complications affect patients' ability to stabilize and recover.</span><blockquote class="tr_bq"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br />"Based on our experience, policies, procedures, I have no concern about either my personal health or the health of the other health care workers," Ribner said. “We are talking about a viral pathogen that does not have some exotic mode of transmission. [Ebola has] a mode of transmission we are well familiar with with other viruses. We have special policies and procedures from the transport side and health care side in the hospital to ensure there is a safe environment to take care of these patients. [I] don’t believe there’s any likelihood at all there would be any secondary [transmission] at all of these patients coming to us.”</span></blockquote> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br />Early symptoms of Ebola can include fever, headache, joint and muscle aches, sore throat and weakness, followed by diarrhea, vomiting and stomach pain, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In some cases, the disease causes rashes, red eyes, hiccups and internal and external bleeding, the CDC says.<br /><br />For a patient who contracts Ebola and is able to recover, once their blood tests normalize and after they no longer show any symptoms, they no longer need to be in isolation.<br /></span><blockquote class="tr_bq"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“It’s a viral infection and viral infections generally, eventually clear,” Dr. Joseph Rahimian, infectious disease specialist and assistant professor of clinical medicine at New York University Langone Medical Center, told FoxNews.com. “So once they’ve made it through their symptoms and their symptoms resolve, within a short time after that, there’s little reason to think they’re going to have an ongoing risk of infection to other people.”</span></blockquote> <div style="clear: both;"> </div> </div> <div class="post-footer" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(102, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; margin: 20px -2px 0px; padding: 5px 10px;"> </div> </div>

Ebola-infected American doctor releases statement from isolation: 'I am growing stronger every day'

Dr. Kent Brantly, the American doctor infected with Ebola released a statement Friday afternoon— his first since being brought back to t...

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Ebola: 139 people under surveillance –FG

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The Federal Government has said that no fewer than 139 people have been placed under surveillance following their alleged contact with the Liberian victim of the deadly Ebola virus.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Addressing a press briefing on Friday in Lagos, the Minister of Health, Prof. Chukwu Onyebuchi, said two new cases of Ebola infection had been recorded in Lagos which now brings to nine the number of cases recorded in Nigeria so far.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The minister said aside the two fresh cases, there were also six suspected cases which had not been confirmed.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">He said, “The total number of cases, as of this morning, (Friday) stands at nine out of which eight are Nigerians and one American-Liberian.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“Out of the nine confirmed cases, seven are alive and are receiving treatment In Lagos,” he said. He also noted that the fatality rate so far in Nigeria was between 30 to 26 per cent, adding that the rate in all other ECOWAS countries stood at 65 per cent.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“I am saying this to enlighten people that having Ebola does not mean you have been condemned to death, survivors have been recorded.”</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Also speaking at the press briefing, Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, condemned in totality false reports circulating that taking a salted hot water bath could protect one and serve as an antidote to the virus.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The health minister also described the report as “a wicked lie,” adding that “I believe Nigeria has laws in this regard. Such perpetrators must be fished out and prosecuted through the appropriate channels.”</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The two ministers maintained that the best and most effective way to handle the situation was to maintain a regular hand washing culture, use hand sanitisers and reduce handshaking situations with other people.</span></div> <div> <br /></div> </div>

Ebola: 139 people under surveillance –FG

The Federal Government has said that no fewer than 139 people have been placed under surveillance following their alleged contact with the...

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