Appernetly they still read newspapers in Nigera. Yahoo/AP
A man has died from Ebola after flying to Nigeria from Libera on Friday. -Yahoo/AP. All passengers were screened for Ebola before boarding, but the victim did not show symptoms until the flight was in the air. Nigerian officials are on high alert for new cases and so are medical authorities in Togo where the man had a stopover. The passengers on the plane are being monitored but are not in isolation.
My Comment:
This is the worst case scenario for the disease. Ebola tends to not spread through air but if the man was throwing up and having diarrhea like the report said there is a very good chance that someone could have been exposed. The whole plane should be disinfected and any janitors working at all three airports should be monitored as well. I'm sure people throw up on airplanes all the time but I doubt the airport workers understand the threat. Hopefully, Nigeria and Togo are able to mobilize their health system to properly react to this case. If they don't...
It's not all bad news though. Ebola does seem to have a hard time spreading through the air so most of the passengers should, in theory, be safe. And since the incubation period of the disease is so long in many cases and does not spread before symptoms start to show, there is little chance of the disease spreading rapidly. Still, I'd feel a lot better about it if the other passengers on this plane were in an isolation unit. Nigeria isn't immune to the suspicions and conspiracy theories that are spreading throughout Africa. I'm worried that some of these people might flee when they start to see symptoms, risking further exposure.
And I am hoping that the American doctor survives. One of the saddest things about this is that so many doctors and nurses have been infected as well. They must be incredibly brave to face such a horrible disease knowing they risk catching it as well.
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