Let’s start with some links on the new Ebola+ test on a care worker who treated the lone African who came to the US.

1. BBC: Ebola: Health care worker tests positive at Texas hospital

A Texan health worker who treated Ebola victim Thomas Eric Duncan before he died is also infected with the virus, according to a preliminary test.

The unnamed worker, who is in a stable condition in an isolation ward, wore full protective gear while treating Duncan, a Dallas health official said.

2. ITV.COM: Texas health worker contracted Ebola despite wearing ‘full protective gear’

The worker treated a victim of Ebola at a hospital in Texas, during which he was wearing “full protective gear”, officials said.

(Wait for denials on that one soon)

3. BizPakReview: Health worker who treated Liberian Ebola fatality tests positive; 1st infection in US

An unidentified healthcare worker who helped treat the Liberian man who died of Ebola last week in Texas has tested positive for the virus.

In a statement released to the media Sunday, the Texas Department of State Health Services said the worker has been in isolation since reporting a fever on Friday. While the positive results are only preliminary, if they are confirmed, it would mark the first case of the deadly disease actually spread through contact in the United States.

It may be time to ask some pretty obvious questions.

I would base those questions around two scenarios, each of which has its own set of issues.

Scenario 1:

Ebola does indeed spread exactly as we are told by various authorities that it does spread. This could in fact be true. But it begs the following questions:

Is it that the equipment currently in use is not capable of preventing the spread of transmission?

This seems unlikely as we were al assured that it would by pretty much every expert.

So then is it possible that this equipment was not properly put into use?

Seems unlikely as many who died or contracted the disease were also experts in its use. It is possible that third world staff and volunteers who do not really understand microbiology and do not even necessarily believe in Ebola as a disease in the Greek sense of the term, do not bother to use the equipment correctly as they don’t believe it will really make any difference. A sort of ‘Pascal’s Wager’ with virus’s.

Is it possible that rare failures with the equipment or procedures are what results in the rare contracting and subsequent mass reporting of certain individuals who get the disease but even if thats the case it has other implications…

That the disease simply cannot be contained even if we are correct about the method of transmission because of inadequate training of support staff, poor or ineffective equipment or equipment that is so complex and detailed in procedure that someone somewhere will indeed make an error, contract the disease, then have something like 21 days to spread the disease before they figure out they have it. (Granted the infectious stage is not immediate after an individual contracts the disease. The communicable stage will likely be a lot less than 21 days)

Scenario II:

The Ebola virus does not spread as we think it does, or as we are told it does. That we do not know how to contain it or prevent it.

This demands a very different set of questions. Like why have we not stopped all inbound flights from infected and surrounding areas, as well as many other related policy issues.

Thank you UK Pete, Richard, M, Maria J. and all who sent in links. There will be a lot more over the weekend I’m sure. All who find what I am certain are truck sized logical errors in my process please explain them in the comments. I would like to see what I have missed. Also those interested may want to check the comments as readers usually place followup and related links well worth seeing in there.

Eeyore for VladTepesBlog

Thank you M., Richard, UK Pete,