Originally published October 7 2014
Dallas hospital admits they lied: Doctors knew Ebola patient came from Liberia after all
by L.J. Devon, Staff Writer
(NaturalNews) With a death toll now exceeding 3,400 in Africa, Ebola now poses a threat to entire countries and medical systems. Still, there are no travel restrictions on West Africans coming into the US. By now, shouldn't Ebola be taken a little more seriously, especially since it can potentially go airborne?
When the first stray case of Ebola left Liberia and boarded a plane for Dallas, Texas, Liberian and US officials didn't recognize anything or question much. Thomas Eric Duncan ended up in Dallas just four days after helping a symptomatic pregnant woman in Liberia. No one stopped him from traveling, even though many of his coworkers knew that he had helped an infected pregnant woman before taking off to America. According to the Liberian Daily Observer, Duncan himself likely knew that he was infected and may have fled to the US as a survival strategy.
Hospital staff initially released Duncan into Dallas, even though they knew he had just arrived from Liberia
When he landed in Dallas, Duncan sought medical help at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, only to be sent home that day with useless antibiotics. The doctors and nurses overlooked where Duncan was from and the severity of his case.
Now, that same hospital is admitting that they had access to crucial information revealing that Duncan was from Liberia. With West Africa suffering under pandemic conditions, why didn't this indicate any red flags? Why was Duncan sent home so readily? Reportedly, both the nurses and the doctors in the initial visit had access to the fact that Duncan had just arrived from Liberia. Why didn't they recognize the situation and respond more effectively? Why did they just send him home with antibiotics?
The medical staff now admits that they released Duncan believing that he simply had a low-grade fever from a viral infection, which antibiotics would be completely useless against anyway. They didn't realize at the moment that they were releasing a man infected with Ebola straight into a high-density area, putting others at risk, including several schoolchildren. Maybe the hospital staff was in a state of denial -- how could Ebola really make it to America and pose a threat?
Hospital initially blames electronic health records for their mistake; then they come clean
To defend themselves initially, the hospital blamed their gross mistake on a flaw in their electronic health records system. The hospital's statement said there were separate "workflows" for doctors and nurses in the records that kept doctors from receiving the critical information that Duncan was indeed from Liberia.
Not long afterward, the hospital retracted their statement, reporting that "there was no flaw" in their record-keeping system. They admitted that Duncan's travel history was well documented and available to a full care team. The physician was able to see the information in his workflow, and it was all available in the electronic health records.
This shows how incompetent and unprepared the American medical system really is in the face of a potential viral pandemic. The hospital's lack of awareness is a glaring example of how feeble the American medical system really is. Even the response to clean out Duncan's contaminated apartment was stalled by permit issues. The Department of Transportation didn't allow Ebola-contaminated waste to be carried on Texas highways. Apparently, the US medical system is less prepared for handling a potential epidemic than one would imagine.
Federal government's false hope and misinformation
Still, the federal government is committed to snuffing out Americans' growing fears by telling them that everything's alright, that America's healthcare system is the best in the world. "There's a lot of fear," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. But he stated, "The system that's in place, with our health care infrastructure, would make it extraordinarily unlikely that we would have an outbreak."
Foolish blanket statements like these downplay the fact that hospitals can't even identify the virus correctly or keep track of where patients are coming from, let alone be able to house thousands of infected patients if a pandemic does break loose. The sad part is that the federal government is keeping Americans completely misinformed about Ebola's airborne potential, refusing to tell about the many ways in which people can prepare their own immune systems and homes in the face of uncertainty.
Knowledge saves lives. To learn more how to protect you and your family from a potential pandemic, visit BioDefense.com.
Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com
http://www.breitbart.com
http://www.naturalnews.com
http://science.naturalnews.com
All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing LLC takes sole responsibility for all content. Truth Publishing sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. NaturalNews.com is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. For the full terms of usage of this material, visit www.NaturalNews.com/terms.shtml