» LATEST NEWS » THE SCENE AT EMORY
Word that a patient infected with the deadly Ebola virus is being flown to Atlanta and then transported to a special isolation unit at Emory University Hospital is causing concern among residents of the metro area, as evidenced by the scores of comments on ajc.com today. Listen in on the interplay of angst, suspicion, anger and appeals to reason:
From partlycloudy: If the CDC is involved as the AJC article says, does that mean that bodily fluids from ebola patients will be "stored" in cardboard boxes in rooms and hallways? The CDC has shown that it doesn't know which end is up, just how many bonuses and high salaries the employees can rack up.
--------------------
From Jarednl3: WHY?!? Why are we bringing a foreign infected person into our nation?!? There is nothing we can do for them here that cannot be done wherever this person came from. Equipment and personnel should be focused on working on this "outbreak," but not on U.S. soil! Who's idiotic idea was this?!?
--------------------
From JoeLangley: Purposely bringing Ebola to U.S.? What idiots. They could do the nonexisting treatment in Africa without bringing danger to all of us. Look at how sloppy CDC has been with their "procedures."
--------------------
From IamWinstonSmith: Sounds like a FANTASTIC idea. What could possibly go wrong?
I mean, why would we be at all concerned with introducing Ebola on the North American continent, what with all the people who have never come into contact with it and all the immune systems that have absolutely no defenses or experience with it?
--------------------
From Colinrichards: How stupid is this? Keep them out of the U.S. No one asked these people to go over there and get Ebola. How is this our problem?
--------------------
From CalWayBack: Wouldn't it be wise to bring this patient to a more rural area instead of a densely populated area? If a mistake is made a disease like that will spread like wildfire in a large city and no way could it be contained.
--------------------
From rrgghh: They are flying in one of the two American missionaries who are risking their lives there to stop an epidemic that if spread further, can threaten public health globally.
And, yes, there is more that can be done for them here in the states than there. There is no cure for Ebola, but symptom control can be better here than in Liberia.
--------------------
More from rrgghh: Ebola is actually not easily transmissible. You can only get it through direct contact with an infected person's bodily fluid. It won't spread like wildfire here, because these cases are tightly controlled. Please do some reading on Ebola before developing an opinion on this.
--------------------
From Suzy000: Let me get this straight....an American doctor who was in FULL HAZMAT gear contracted the virus from a patient......no....not me....I don't want to be around the block from an Ebola patient. I am livid that Americans are just now finding out that Ebola is coming to the States to be cared for in Atlanta ON PURPOSE. UNLESS....Ebola has already arrived and no one is telling us.
--------------------
From Maggot_Man: Several comments here make it obvious that some have the habit of reading a headline and then spewing opinions, while your questions/concerns are answered in the article itself. I don't know how some of you can even get through one day without injuring yourselves or others.
--------------------
From CatLadyATL: Our fellow U.S. citizens have been working diligently at the risk of their own lives to help people who have less than almost all of us in terms of possessions or opportunities. Why shouldn't they have the best medical care available? There must be some reason that Emory has one of only four facilities in the nation to treat virulent illness such as Ebola... they didn't just have their name pulled out of a hat. This is a rare opportunity to allow research as well as to make every effort to save our brave and altruistic citizens and I personally am proud to be a member of this community (well the part with brains and hearts).
--------------------
From GSDLover: Reading these comments, I now understand why Georgia ranks at the bottom of the 50 states in almost everything, including education.
--------------------
From scottofjohnscreek: What about the "Law of Unintended Consequences?" We should be flying the expertise and equipment there, keep everyone quarantined until all are cleared, decontaminate everything then consider flying back. This is terrifying.
--------------------
From sliderule: The American doctor and nurse chose to go to Africa and try to help care for those dying of Ebola. First strike. The idiot doctor had his family with him in Africa and luckily they left just before he contracted the disease or they would all have it. Second strike. Now the (recently proven) incompetents at the CDC and Emory are bringing him to Atlanta. What could possibly go wrong? Probably nothing. But I don't like any odds. Strike 3, we're all out.
--------------------
From NotYourTypicalAtlantan: The CDC can't handle the viruses that they themselves harbor in their basement, this is evident by the fact they still haven't found the source of the accidental release of Anthrax 2 weeks ago.
Ebola cannot be cured, it is a flesh eating virus and I'm not confident enough in Emory nor the CDC in providing treatment for Ebola.
--------------------
From GayCentrist: Dear God all you heartless, paranoid, people that are clearly incapable of reading at a 4th grade level. The CDC and Emory are evacuating an American citizen to the place they have the best chance of surviving in the world, Atlanta. I guarantee no one asked Obama about it. The CDC did this on its own. This is a major disease we do not know a lot about, the chance to study it in the labs here in Atlanta might lead us one step closer to treatments that are more effective than hydration and fever suppression.
No UN helicopters. No martial law. No illegal aliens. Just Americans doing the right thing, and America's government doing the right thing. Has the CDC made some mistakes? Of course, no one is perfect. But they are an international treasure that survives on a minuscule budget.
