Dallas Nurse Flew to Cleveland and Back The Day Before She Was Diagnosed with Ebola

But the CDC is acting "swiftly" to contact the 132 passengers on the trip back to find out which of them might have been in "close contact" with the ebola victim.

Are you not... reassured?

The Dallas nurse had flown to Cleveland to visit family in Akron on October 10th. She flew back to Dallas Fort Worth on October 13th. She was diagnosed the next day. Obviously, she must have been showing symptoms earlier (diagnosis must follow symptoms).

First of all, the CDC should not focus only on the flight of October 13th. Yes, that is the more dangerous one, coming, as it did, just 24 hours before she was diagnosed.

The nurse's co-passengers on the October 10th flight need to be alerted as well. True enough, the October 10th flight, occurring four days before the report of symptoms, is a fairly low risk.

But then again, this is ebola, which literally could, were it to break out, kill thousands. (And I say "thousands" to not be alarmist.)

Here is some reassuring news: The CDC is on this, notifying the passengers on the October 13th flight, a mere forty eight hours after the flight.

Did they not ask her if she had traveled recently? Why was this information not disclosed immediately?

I'm so reassured by the CDC's "swiftness" in tracking ebola contacts and informing the public that I'm going to dig a hole, fill it with concrete, and drown myself in it.

Corrected: She was actually diagnosed the day after the flight. I originally said she "showed symptoms" the day after.

I was wrong -- I wasn't alarmist enough. A woman diagnosed with ebola on the 14th obviously must have been symptomatic on the 13th, the day she shared a tiny tube of recirculated air with 132 other people.

Or I should say: With 132 other potential vectors.

posted by Ace at 11:48 AM

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