US Dismisses Plea for Biological Disaster Response Teams (EBOLA)

DP

originally posted by: soficrow

originally posted by: OptimusCrime

originally posted by: Irishhaf
Just a wag... but if they are holding back on sending specialist en mass, they may possibly consider it enough of a threat that the risk/reward isn't enough in the black to warrant shipping our best and brightest to an area where they could be gunned down by a people in panic.

Which would leave us on the short end of the stick when/if it reaches the US in any major numbers.

Like I said just a wag as to why they are slow playing things in Africa versus a full court press.

....After some of the volunteers that went there and ended up sick, they're probably not going to risk any more people,....

That's why the request is for specialized biological response teams - and military personnel to escort health workers into key areas.

This just gets better and better. Send response teams, the military, the whole nine, right? Sheesh. If the military is involved as well, they're definitely looking at other options as the military is spread thin as it is with prior obligations.

originally posted by: OptimusCrime

originally posted by: soficrow

originally posted by: OptimusCrime

originally posted by: Irishhaf
Just a wag... but if they are holding back on sending specialist en mass, they may possibly consider it enough of a threat that the risk/reward isn't enough in the black to warrant shipping our best and brightest to an area where they could be gunned down by a people in panic.

Which would leave us on the short end of the stick when/if it reaches the US in any major numbers.

Like I said just a wag as to why they are slow playing things in Africa versus a full court press.

....After some of the volunteers that went there and ended up sick, they're probably not going to risk any more people,....

That's why the request is for specialized biological response teams - and military personnel to escort health workers into key areas.

This just gets better and better. Send response teams, the military, the whole nine, right? Sheesh. If the military is involved as well, they're definitely looking at other options as the military is spread thin as it is with prior obligations.

The US military does have some specialist units designed for this sort of thing. To be fair he is right. It would not be a full scale deployment like in a war zone just a few hundred. We are talking personnel that would likely not be in the ME.

This is a matter of US national security and needs treated as such. The west just throwing money at the problem likely wont fix it. It needs some hands on practical experience from personnel trained in Cat 4 Pathogens and USA and UK have many of these specialists serving in specialised military units.

originally posted by: OptimusCrime
If they think it's too soon, or too risky to send our people there, they're going to wait and think it over.

And I do have to respectfully disagree with the governments decision.

The longer they wait the bigger the mess and more likely Americans will get infected/die.

Do you really trust the competence of your congress and president over that of many experts in the field of medicine and virology?

here is the catch... security teams would not be biological experts, that would be a problem... could you imagine being in Africa wearing Mopp 4 for 10-12 hours a day.

I can almost guarantee the General's would require mopp 4, I have done exercises in Louisiana in mopp4 its sucked a great deal if you were day shift.. I can only imagine the suck would be magnitudes worse in Africa.

While the Specialists would probably maintain protocol, the required number of security personal would almost guarantee somebody would break a seal risking infection, increasing the chance of infecting the entire contingent.

at that point I refer you back to my earlier post, they don't want to risk the small number (and it is much smaller than most people think) of field trained specialists that they have, on a forlorn hope that they will turn the tide in Africa.

Why does it have to be people from the US? Why not the UK or France or Germany?

a reply to: Restricted

Because the world needs someone to blame even though none of the other first world is sending specialized teams to help either

originally posted by: Restricted
Why does it have to be people from the US? Why not the UK or France or Germany?

No one saying Europe shouldn't be involved.

I have said it like a dozen times.

But as it affects the USA then the USA needs to do its part too.

USA,UK,France and Germany should be pulling the main weight as those 4 have the most expertise in dealing with cat 4's.

Il repeat again for emphasis ITS A EUROPEAN PROBLEM AND USA PROBLEM. This has the potential to harm Americans so Americans need to pull there weight, so does UK, France, Germany and everyone else as best they can.

originally posted by: Restricted
Why does it have to be people from the US? Why not the UK or France or Germany?

The call is for ALL the wealthier nations to respond. The US declined immediately, and unfortunately, set the precedent for other nations to delay/refuse. ...It really would have been better to wait a few days.

A poster on another thread -TonyS- I think, suggested France would be the best to lead in, because their military is already there and West Africans trust them. I have not verified the info, but will see if I can find the post.

originally posted by: soficrow

originally posted by: Restricted
Why does it have to be people from the US? Why not the UK or France or Germany?

The call is for ALL the wealthier nations to respond. The US declined immediately, and unfortunately, set the precedent for other nations to delay/refuse. ...It really would have been better to wait a few days.

A poster on another thread -TonyS- I think, suggested France would be the best to lead in, because their military is already there and West Africans trust them. I have not verified the info, but will see if I can find the post.

France would b a good lead with UK and USA in support. Honnestly if the big 4 germany, usa,france and UK just sent 200 experts from there military bio reasearch/medical departments it would go a long long way.

a reply to: crazyewok

Thanks crazyewok. S& ....Just clicked on your response to read it and realized I already did, and started this thread in response: Should Corporations Help Pay for Ebola Epidemics? (Ebola Outbreaks are Linked to Mining and Deforestation.) ...But I forgot you caused it. Thanks.

from OP:

WHAT'S NEEDED: THE SHORT LIST....

Ebola is beginning to look like Fukushima... no one's willing to get close to it. Do you blame them? Many doctors who are 'experts' in using PPE have died.

America is doing it's part. Labs are going crazy 24/7 looking for a vaccine and by extension- a cure.

No sorry, we don't have all kinds of top doctors to risk their lives, and 600 million dollars - to give at this time.

I chuckled when I read the law about a prison sentence for people who harbor Ebola victims. Like right. Are they going to go in there and drag out the patient's family members - who are probably infected, and put them into a prison with people who are not infected? Reasonable. Not!

originally posted by: Restricted
Let Europe and the ME pay for it. Let China pay for it.

The ME and China have more money than the US does, I'm pretty sure.

a reply to: MarkJS

Thanks for playing. Quick update:

CATASTROPHE WARNING

The director of the United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) warned on Friday of a "catastrophe" if emergency action were not taken immediately to reverse the trend of rising cases.

"There is time to avoid a catastrophe but only if immediate and urgent action is taken at every level," Tom Frieden said in the Sierra Leone capital Freetown.

Fauci says … in West Africa right now, the rate of infection is exponential, …. "The number of cases per unit time is dramatically increasing."

"That exponential increase indicates that the virus is now "beyond the interventions we have in place," Fauci says.

Once the growth of an outbreak becomes exponential, the tools normally at the disposal of health officials have limited value. It may require military airlifts just to deliver sufficient rubber gloves, aprons, soap and buckets to highly affected areas. Doctors Without Borders is calling for the deployment of civilian and military medical teams to provide triage centers, field hospitals with isolation wards, mobile diagnostic labs and systems for the management of corpses.

But who will direct and implement such an effort? The WHO is not an emergency response organization; it is known mainly for bureaucracy and infighting. The United Nations has no epidemic response force comparable to its peacekeeping operations (though perhaps it should). It is hard to imagine a coordinated effort on a sufficient scale that is not organized by the United States.

NIH: Ebola Outbreak is 'Completely Out of Control'

Thousands of Health Care Workers Needed in Global Effort to Stop Ebola Outbreak

Someone said in a (non-ATS) forum that the reason that the medical personnel get infected is flies. A fly eats something contaminated, then sits on a person, or on a person's food. When that happens, it's all over folks. And you can't wear PPE 24/7, can you?

a reply to: MarkJS

The reason medical personnel are getting infected is that they're not properly trained - and often, not properly outfitted.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has been working Ebola outbreaks for decades and has NEVER lost one of their people.

Please - see above.



PS. The reason to stop it in West Africa is so that it does not come here and wreak the same havoc. 'Cuz it will if it's ignored and goes pandemic.

Right. Try the ME and/or China. There was just a report out last week that 1/3 of Americans are on welfare. And you think we have all kinds of money?

a reply to: MarkJS

They need expertise - like the man said "It is hard to imagine a coordinated effort on a sufficient scale that is not organized by the United States." .....As far as the money goes, it's like a leaky roof or plumbing or an oil leak in your car. Fix it early. 'Cuz if you don't you're gonna be hit with a whopping bill 1000 times bigger than it would have been. Also, Shouldn't Corporations Help Pay for Ebola Epidemics?

To top of your post says "reply to MarkJS"

But in reality, you are avoiding the points I bring up and are skirting the issue. It's hardly a post deemed to be a 'reply'.

a reply to: MarkJS

You said we don't have the money - I answered that they need expertise, not just money, and quoted the statement "It is hard to imagine a coordinated effort on a sufficient scale that is not organized by the United States." ...No one is expecting the USA to come up with $600 million - there are other wealthy nations - and global corporations in West Africa should pitch in and cough up.

As far as China's contributions go, from the International Business Times:

Ebola Outbreak 2014: China Adds To International Aid Efforts

....As health workers call on the international community for aid, China has joined the ranks of global NGOs and foreign governments in providing aid to the region, where its motivations stretch beyond the current tragedy.

Over the past decade, China has sent millions in aid and invested billions in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, where the outbreak has hit hardest.

“There are ambivalent views on the presence of Chinese companies in Africa,” reads an August report from the Ethics Institute of South Africa exploring local attitudes toward Chinese investors on the continent. “Some portray China as a benevolent investor and friend of Africa. Others accuse China of being a ‘new colonial power,’ extracting resources for their own benefit with little return for Africa,” the report says.

China sent a series of shipments to affected areas over the course of the outbreak, one worth roughly $160,000 in early May, and another $4.9 million worth of supplies on Aug. 7, according to state-run news outlets, which also report that at least 20,000 Chinese nationals are present in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

Later, eight Chinese workers who had treated Ebola patients were quarantined in Sierra Leone.

On Aug. 10 China announced plans to send a team of nine specialists from its Center for Disease Control to train local medical staff and distribute supplies in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. China Central Television (CCTV) reported that it was the first time the country has offered to help foreign nationals during a public health emergency.