Ebola, complacency, American health care.
The CDC might have 'no doubt' that Ebola can be contained but they might ask the Hospital Epidemiologist who had a meeting with 'Stakeholders' and then saw a patient presenting symptoms consistent with Ebola, recently arrived from the hot zone, released back into the community.
If an epidemiologist says 'no doubt' with reference to infectious disease, then you can bet your life it's a canard.
- There is 'no doubt' that the spread of ebola in West Africa exceeds CDC expectations.
- Hospitals are notorious for poor internal communication between services or departments and complacency and
lapses of protocol are far too common when the ER is flooded with people who cannot get health care anywhere
else.
- The fragmented health care system makes epidemiology and surveillance a lot more difficult than it need be.
- Many people put off looking for treatment because of lack of insurance or high co-payments.
I'm not saying that there will be an Ebola epidemic in Texas but I am saying that there is plenty of room for uncertainty and that the patchwork health care system in this county will exacerbate the risk.