re: Nina Pham Leaving Hospital - Ebola Free!!!!

Wait, I was under the impression reading this board that Ebola had gone airborne and I had better start stockpiling Beefaroni again.

WTF GUYS!!!

Good for Miss Pham and her family.

My question - if there is no known cure for the disease how is it that these survivors are being treated so they can later walk out as being free of Ebola? Does it have to do with medicine/blood treatments or mostly keeping everything around them sanitary?

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Wait, I was under the impression reading this board that Ebola had gone airborne and I had better start stockpiling Beefaroni again.

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Tap...the...brakes. The outbreak is far from over and we're continuing to import cases.

PANIC MODE: WEAREGOINGTODIE OHSHIT [CAUTIOUSLYOPTIMISTIC] NOWORRIES

the real question is, WYHI

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Pham got plasma donations from the doctor.

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Ah yes - thank you. I had forgotten about that.

We need to clone that dude.

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My question - if there is no known cure for the disease how is it that these survivors are being treated so they can later walk out as being free of Ebola? Does it have to do with medicine/blood treatments or mostly keeping everything around them sanitary?

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They aren't sure, but the common thought is that immediately replacing fluids and electrolytes is the key.

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My question - if there is no known cure for the disease how is it that these survivors are being treated

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Antibodies (the body's 'natural defenses') kill Ebola. If the body's immune system responds more quickly than the virus multiplies, the virus is gradually killed off. If the virus multiplies in a way that overwhelms the body's immune defense, the patient dies.

In Pham's case, and perhaps Vinson's, transfusion of antibodies (Kent Brantley's Plasma) gave a boost to to her immune system. Antiviral agents (Drugs used to kill viruses, sort of like antibiotics kill bacteria) are also used and may or may not help. It sounds like antivirals made a significant difference in Brantley's case.

As with most viruses, cure comes when the body kills all Ebola, assuming Ebola doesn't kill the body first.

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Have she and Vinson been given any of the experimental treatments that the first two ebola cases got? I thought they had no more of that.

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Pham supposedly got a blood transfusion from the male doc that was treated in august. In theory, his blood had the antibody producing cells in it that would recognize the ebola and begin producing antibodies against it. Now I read that on an article that some Christian group posted on fb do IDK if it is true or not.

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Are they getting any kind of non-standard treatment other than isolation or are they just able to fight off the disease given normal care for highly infectious diseases??

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I have no idea

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Maybe the death rate is just a reflection on the conditions of the treatment facilities and protocols and not the supremacy of the virus itself. Let's hope so.

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Ebola is a damn serious virus but not an unbeatable one. Prior to Duncan the US there were 5 or so cases in the US since 2000 and all 5 survived and did not pass on the virus to healthcare workers. Duncan's case seems to be a giant clusterfrick, he was misdiagnosed and 55 hours went by before he was admitted to the hospital. During that time, he was untreated and got worse, that was probably a huge factor in him dying. There are allegations that the hospital told the nurses and docs not to wear the safety gear until it was confirmed to be ebola. That could be how the virus spread to Pham and Vinson or they might have not taken off the gear properly, we won't know until the official CDC, Texas Department of Health, and TPH release their investigation results.

So long story short, if you have ebola in the US and get care in a timely manner you are more than likely going to live. If you add up the 5 prior to Duncan + Duncan + Pham and Vinson + the NBC cameraman+ the unnamed case at emory + the 2 docs from august= you get 1 death/12cases. So the US has a death rate of less than 10% much better than the average in Africa of over 70%.