Wouldn't the job of being a police officer be some much easier if we had a huge crystal ball that we could see in the future with and a magic wand to make it all go away? How about a glass bubble to place over the town to keep us safe?
On Friday, I participated in a conference call with Gov Maggie Hassan, Director Plummer from NH Homeland Security and two doctors from NH Health and Human Services. One doctor was the State's expert on Ebola and the second doctor was the State's expert on Entrovirus D68.
The most important thing the public needs to know is the State is gearing up to combat these two diseases. Plans are in place to deal with these diseases as they strike. We currently have no cases of Ebola in NH. Entrovirus D68 is here. We are looking at a six month period during which this will effect us.
I will first touch on Ebola. Chances of us seeing this are rare but it could happen. Ebola has originated in Africa. It is spread by touching bodily fluid from one infected person to another. It is contacted through mucous membranes, meaning the eyes, nose and mouth and broken skin membranes. (cuts)
The onset of symptoms is between 2 and 21 days of contact. Symptoms include sudden fever, muscle pain, headache and sore throat. This is followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, loss of kidney and liver function and finally bleeding from mouth, lips and gums.
There is no vaccine for this and it is often a fatal virus.
The United States is tackling this disease by screening for it. They are monitoring people that may have been exposed to it and isolating them. This process used on the national level is expected to keep the spread in check. The good news on Ebola is it is not airborne. A person catching it would have to touch someone or something that had contact with bodily fluid. The disease does live after a person dies and the disease will live on items a person has secreted bodily fluids on.
More concerning on the local level is the Entrovirus D68. There are over a hundred strains of Entrovirus. The D68 is the strain that you are seeing in the media. The symptoms include fever, runny nose, sneezing, coughing, and body and muscle aches. Most people who have this will only have mild symptoms.
This virus has presented serious problems in children and adolescents who have a history of asthma. We have seen many of these children hospitalized.
So if you have a child with asthma, keep a close look on symptoms they present during the outbreak. Communicate with the asthma doctor and keep emergency inhalers etc on hand and carry them with you.
Entrovirus D68 is an airborne virus. This means that if a person sneezes or coughs etc, the virus can be spread that way. Entrovirus is easily killed through disinfection. So during the next six months, practice good hand washing. Soap and water is the recommended method recommended to us by the Doctors. The alcohol gel cleaners that we carry are less effective. The professionals are telling us if that is all you have, use it and then wash your hands with soap and water as soon as possible.
The important thing to know is hospital are aware of and are in high gear to treat both diseases.
How does this effect you on a local level? If you call 911 for an emergency, expect some different questions. You may be asked if you have or have been in contact with someone who traveled to Africa. If you have flu like symptoms, let 911 know. They will most probably ask about flu like symptoms as well.
Expect to see Emergency Responders with Masks, gloves, glasses and gowns during certain calls. That is how we protect ourselves from catching it and spreading it.
If you or your children are sick, stay home until a fever has passed at least 24 hours.
As information becomes available to us, we will put that information out to the community.
As a community, our Emergency Management Department, police and fire departments will be meeting to make sure we are doing it right. Most importantly we will be sharing what we know with you.
If you want more information, you can visit these sites.
On Friday, I participated in a conference call with Gov Maggie Hassan, Director Plummer from NH Homeland Security and two doctors from NH Health and Human Services. One doctor was the State's expert on Ebola and the second doctor was the State's expert on Entrovirus D68.
The most important thing the public needs to know is the State is gearing up to combat these two diseases. Plans are in place to deal with these diseases as they strike. We currently have no cases of Ebola in NH. Entrovirus D68 is here. We are looking at a six month period during which this will effect us.
I will first touch on Ebola. Chances of us seeing this are rare but it could happen. Ebola has originated in Africa. It is spread by touching bodily fluid from one infected person to another. It is contacted through mucous membranes, meaning the eyes, nose and mouth and broken skin membranes. (cuts)
The onset of symptoms is between 2 and 21 days of contact. Symptoms include sudden fever, muscle pain, headache and sore throat. This is followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, loss of kidney and liver function and finally bleeding from mouth, lips and gums.
There is no vaccine for this and it is often a fatal virus.
The United States is tackling this disease by screening for it. They are monitoring people that may have been exposed to it and isolating them. This process used on the national level is expected to keep the spread in check. The good news on Ebola is it is not airborne. A person catching it would have to touch someone or something that had contact with bodily fluid. The disease does live after a person dies and the disease will live on items a person has secreted bodily fluids on.
More concerning on the local level is the Entrovirus D68. There are over a hundred strains of Entrovirus. The D68 is the strain that you are seeing in the media. The symptoms include fever, runny nose, sneezing, coughing, and body and muscle aches. Most people who have this will only have mild symptoms.
This virus has presented serious problems in children and adolescents who have a history of asthma. We have seen many of these children hospitalized.
So if you have a child with asthma, keep a close look on symptoms they present during the outbreak. Communicate with the asthma doctor and keep emergency inhalers etc on hand and carry them with you.
Entrovirus D68 is an airborne virus. This means that if a person sneezes or coughs etc, the virus can be spread that way. Entrovirus is easily killed through disinfection. So during the next six months, practice good hand washing. Soap and water is the recommended method recommended to us by the Doctors. The alcohol gel cleaners that we carry are less effective. The professionals are telling us if that is all you have, use it and then wash your hands with soap and water as soon as possible.
The important thing to know is hospital are aware of and are in high gear to treat both diseases.
How does this effect you on a local level? If you call 911 for an emergency, expect some different questions. You may be asked if you have or have been in contact with someone who traveled to Africa. If you have flu like symptoms, let 911 know. They will most probably ask about flu like symptoms as well.
Expect to see Emergency Responders with Masks, gloves, glasses and gowns during certain calls. That is how we protect ourselves from catching it and spreading it.
If you or your children are sick, stay home until a fever has passed at least 24 hours.
As information becomes available to us, we will put that information out to the community.
As a community, our Emergency Management Department, police and fire departments will be meeting to make sure we are doing it right. Most importantly we will be sharing what we know with you.
If you want more information, you can visit these sites.
Ebola Virus Disease: http://www.dhhs.nh.gov/dphs/cdcs/ebola.htm
Enterovirus D68: http://www.dhhs.nh.gov/dphs/cdcs/enterovirus-d68.htm
There is some great information under the frequently asked question sections and more importantly they write a heck of a lot better than me and are smarter.
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