Tuesday, August 19, 2014

An Overall View on Ebola Outbreak - Including the U.S. Patients



On the last blog entry on this topic, I added a note which said:

(*note - Despite mainstream media reports, here in Georgia, we are still on the "highest alert activation ever", with local (and national) alternative news sites stating that although the "last report on mainstream news media" was that the doctor (Dr. Kent Brantly) will soon be released from hospital (with no release date yet announced), they are crying out 'false flag'.

I will be posting an update soon, but please, I ask all readers not to become paranoid because even the alternative media can read all the 'signs' wrong, despite their earnest desire for 'truth'.  Well, GOD IS TRUTH, and without Him, we can get our feathers easily ruffled or run around like a chicken with their head cut off.  Please find inner peace in Christ, despite all that is happening around us.  Stand by for an update. Bonita)

Getting the Facts Straight

Okay, this is the update.  The latest news here in Georgia is what I wrote above.  Although videos and alternative news websites are very hyped about Dr. Brantly being returned to the United States, along with Nancy Writebol, stating that the doctor is “soon to be released” after only 12 days. It is now at 17 days since he arrived. He has not been released and is still in quarantine at Emory University facility.  There is no news yet as to when he will be released. 

One alternative news reporter who appears to be well-respected and regarded in the ‘Youtube community’ is more than upset with the news about the doctor’s release, but with all due respect [Dutchsinse], Brantly has not been released yet.  It does not seem as though the hospital is in a hurry to release him either, despite his improved health.

Below is the link to ‘Dutchsinse’ website. He is convinced that this is another false flag and that the ‘powers that be’ have purposely brought the infected patients back to the United States in order to bring about a massive outbreak of the plague here in this country.

See his link below:

About the U.S. Ebola Patients - Dr. Kent Brantly; Nancy Writebol


Credit to the Samaritan’s Purse website for the following information, which is a letter from Dr. Kent Brantly, the infected doctor. 

Brantly is on the backstep of ambulance, ready to walk into hospital
Arrow points to Brantly
“As my treatment continues in the isolation unit at Emory University Hospital, I am recovering in every way. I thank God for the healthcare team here who is giving me compassionate, world-class care. I am more grateful every day to the Lord for sparing my life and continuing to heal my body. There are still a few hurdles to clear before I can be discharged, but I hold on to the hope of a sweet reunion with my wife, children and family in the near future.
Thank you for your prayers for Nancy (Writebol) and me. Please continue to pray for and bring attention to those suffering in the ongoing Ebola crisis in West Africa. Their fight is far from over.”
Nancy Writebol (nurse) - Kent Brantly (doctor)
Dr. Brantly is a Christian and it is my firm belief that the Lord will see Him through this (heal him).  Be that as it may, there will still be those who would never give credit to the Lord.  He is Sovereign.  We all have an appointed time to die, and just ‘how’ we die is not up to us.  Some are here for a long time, some a short time, but whether no matter how long we are here, we should be glad that we had opportunity at all to be here.  That is just my thought.

Ten days ago, Kent Brantly also wrote:

“I am writing this update from my isolation room at Emory University Hospital, where the doctors and nurses are providing the very best care possible. I am growing stronger every day, and I thank God for His mercy as I have wrestled with this terrible disease. I also want to extend my deep and sincere thanks to all of you who have been praying for my recovery as well as for Nancy (Writebol) and for the people of Liberia and West Africa.
My wife Amber and I, along with our two children, did not move to Liberia for the specific purpose of fighting Ebola. We went to Liberia because we believe God called us to serve Him at ELWA Hospital.
One thing I have learned is that following God often leads us to unexpected places. When Ebola spread into Liberia, my usual hospital work turned more and more toward treating the increasing number of Ebola patients. I held the hands of countless individuals as this terrible disease took their lives away from them. I witnessed the horror firsthand, and I can still remember every face and name.
When I started feeling ill on that Wednesday morning, I immediately isolated myself until the test confirmed my diagnosis three days later. When the result was positive, I remember a deep sense of peace that was beyond all understanding. God was reminding me of what He had taught me years ago, that He will give me everything I need to be faithful to Him.
Now it is two weeks later, and I am in a totally different setting. My focus, however, remains the same—to follow God. As you continue to pray for Nancy and me, yes, please pray for our recovery. More importantly, pray that we would be faithful to God’s call on our lives in these new circumstances.”
Dr. Brantly continues to recover at the facility (Emory University Hospital).  According to Samaritan’s Purse (a branch of the Billy Graham organization):  “ [He] contracted the Ebola virus while treating patients in Liberia, is being treated at a special unit set up in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to treat patients who are exposed to certain serious infectious diseases. He was flown to the U.S. in a medical evacuation plane equipped with a special containment unit.
Both Dr. Brantly and Writebol received a dose of an experimental serum while still in Liberia. Dr. Brantly also received a unit of blood from a 14-year-old boy who had survived Ebola under his care.
“The young boy and his family wanted to be able to help the doctor that saved his life,” Graham said.” http://www.samaritanspurse.org/article/dr-kent-brantly-statement/
The second Ebola victim to be returned to the United States is nurse Nancy Writebol, who, along with her husband, is also a missionary.  Her job was to disinfect staff entering and exiting the Ebola treatment center.  Her husband is quarantined (but shows no signs of illness) in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Nancy Writebol wheeled into Emory University Hospital
CNN reports: “Early symptoms of Ebola include sudden onset of fever, weakness, muscle pain, headaches and a sore throat. They later progress to vomiting, diarrhea, impaired kidney and liver function -- and sometimes internal and external bleeding.

There's no standardized treatment for the disease, either; the most common approach is to support organ functions and keep up bodily fluids such as blood and water long enough for the body to fight off the infection.
The National Institutes of Health plans to begin testing an experimental Ebola vaccine in people as early as September. Tests on primates have been successful.

So far, the outbreak is confined to West Africa. Although infections are dropping in Guinea, they are on the rise in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
In the 1990s, an Ebola strain tied to monkeys -- Ebola-Reston -- was found in the United States, but no humans got sick from it, according to the CDC.”

The website below provides a few videos, with one of them being a Nigerian Ebola expert.  He is a professor at the College of Medicine and University of Lagos and a Consultant Virologist.  Dr. Sunday Aremu Omilabu spoke during an interview with Sahara TV about the Ebola outbreak in Nigeria.  

The writer of the site boldly headlines that the doctor states that Ebola is airborne or can be transmitted via air.  Although the doctor has a thick accent and can be difficult to understand in parts, he states that it is not typically airborne, but is “transmitted through a vessel, through fruit bats. The fruit bats contaminate fruits and vegetables through their saliva, through their feces.  If they eat any of the fruits, they get the fruits contaminated and whoever comes across this contaminated fruit would definitely come down with the disease.”

He speaks of other non-human primates (including gorillas, chimpanzees and domestic pigs) who also eat the fruits (vegetables) would contact the disease; then, any human who comes in contact with the animals or non-human primates will come contract the disease also. “So, we know the route of transmission.”   He does say that given the right circumstances and environments, it ‘could’ be airborne, but you must hear his explanation of ‘how’ that is possible.

He begins:  “We may hear that where we might have people submitting the virus, and the virus is in large quantities, say a million particles, possibility of general aerosols cannot be ruled out.” He goes on to explain that when the level is on the high side, "any of the spillage could be dried off and be blown by air, so it’s not impossible…”  He is not saying that Ebola is airborne, he is saying that if it is in ‘large quantities’, it is possible.  Well, we all know that anything is possible with diseases, especially if they morph.  Listen carefully to the video and judge for yourself. (link to Investment watchdog below)

The site follows up the Professor’s video with ‘Dutchsinse’s video, which states that Dr. Kent Brantly is soon to be released.  Just shy of three weeks after Brantly was transferred to the University Hospital here in Georgia, he is still not released. (I'm in Georgia - I hear the local news.)  

Please people, calm down and do not fall into the hype.  I realize that many ‘truthers’ are merely trying to warn the people, sickened (as most of us all) by the lies of the mainstream media, but they too are human and not infallible. 

Finally, the site provides a one minute video where the WHO (World Health Organization) states that beds are filling up faster than they can be provided, meaning that the “outbreak in west Africa is far more severe than the numbers show.” 
CDC Atlanta on conference all to CDC workers in West Africa
However, Dr. Stephan Monroe of the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) states:  “We are pretty confident that normal isolation protocols in the U.S. or western style medicine would prevent transmission.”  A representative from WHO in Geneva stated: “The flood of patients into every newly opened treatment centre is evidence that the official tolls aren’t keeping up.”   

We have to stand back and look at the whole picture and get the overall view.  (Remember when you are in the forest, you cannot see the forest for the trees, meaning we're looking too closely at the small details or too closely involved.)  Those living in the U.S. are overly concerned because 'now' the disease is in 'their' country.  It's no longer - over 'there' (is my point).

Keep in mind that many of the ‘patients’ who are overwhelming these centres by vast numbers are also people who want to be tested to make sure they do not have the disease.  Hundreds, if not thousands, are not sick, but need to know in their own minds that they are not infected, so they go to the Ebola treatment centres to be tested for the disease.

The one and only comment on the Christian Post website made an intriguing statement:

10:44 AM on August 15, 2014

From the WHO..."Men who have recovered from the disease can still transmit the virus through their semen for up to 7 weeks after recovery from illness."

Although the above statement may be true, that very information also pertains to all transferrable (transmittable) diseases.  We have to use critical thinking, people, and not panic.

A Word about Ebola from Encyclopedia Britannica
 
Just like influenza (flu), there are different strains (species) of Ebola, five to be precise. Encyclopedia Britannica writes about Ebola, including the most recent outbreak (emphasis mine).

Ebola viruses take their name from the Ebola River in the northern Congo basin of central Africa, where they first emerged in 1976. Ebola viruses are closely related to species in the genus Marburgvirus, which was discovered in 1967, and the two are the only members of the Filoviridae that cause epidemic human disease. Five species of ebola viruses, known as Zaire ebola virus (EBOV), Sudan ebola virus (SUDV), Taï Forest ebola virus (TAFV), Reston ebola virus (RESTV), and Bundibugyo ebola virus (BDBV), named for their outbreak locations, have been described.

A large outbreak occurred in western Africa in 2014, affecting people in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Nigeria. Nearly 1,800 cases, over half of which resulted in death, had been reported by early August of that year. 

Though outbreaks were normally brought under control effectively through existing prevention and treatment strategies, the 2014 outbreak was complicated by a limited health workforce and particularly by misperceptions of the disease among some people living in affected regions, and public health experts anticipated the spread of the disease to other countries in Africa; there was concern that it could reach distant areas, including the United Kingdom and the United States, as a result of travel by infected individuals. 

On August 8, following a sudden rise in cases that severely compromised aid efforts, the director general of the World Health Organization, Margaret Chan, announced the decision to declare the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.”  

(note* - It would appear that a shortage of doctors and/or general health care precipitated the problem of the outbreak.  This is one reason why Samaritan’s Purse and other Christian missionary groups got involved and sent out doctors and nurses.  There is a shortage of health care, and all of us know that whether it is Ebola or a flu outbreak, without proper health care, any disease will spread rapidly.  It’s common sense. Ed.BP)

People have questions, fears and opinions:

“Considering the symptoms for a late-stage Ebola victim are heavy sweating, vomiting and diarrhea, I am not so sure that humans arent effective at creating aerosols at the height of infection.
Do we actually have data on the aersolization potential of humans at the height of infection, or are you assuming?  If this ebola variant isn’t airborne, how did more than 100 health workers outfitted with Biohazard suits contract the disease? It is pretty obvious, I think, that this ebola outbreak is spreading through the air.”
An Atlanta Resident Speaks Out
For a no-nonsense perspective, I have included the link to an article written by a lady named Maryn McKenna at wired.com.  Maryn is an Atlanta resident who lives less than two miles from Emory University and the CDC.  If we truly are after truth and seek to judge with righteous judgment, then in all fairness, we must listen to ALL sides – THEN, we take it to the LORD.  She also provides many links for further research.

God is Still Sovereign

I would encourage every concerned reader to do their own research.  I have provided some leads to start you along the path, if you so desire to pursue the subject. We serve a Sovereign God and yes, we 'know' that judgment is upon the earth.  The entire world is in chaos right now, from various wars happening to pestilences and so much more.  Why be so surprised though, as Jesus forewarned us of all of this in Matthew 24.
Take each day at a time, or you will never enjoy a moment in this life.  God is still Sovereign and still LORD over all.  He has warned that old diseases will be resurrected and morph into incurable diseases.  We also know that wicked, evil people desire to weaponize illnesses, creating biological weapons for their planned biological warfare.  We know this!

We must continue to walk with God, who promised that if we do NOT lean to our own understanding, He WILL direct our steps. (Prov 3:5,6)

Allow me to gently remind you of all the hype over Fema region 3, the asteroid that was going to land by Puerto Rico, the vast number of body bags etc, the December 2012 Mayan calendar, Elenin hype and too much more to put here.  We all know that asteroids are a very real threat.  We see what the Word of God says about the sky being like a scroll, the stars of heaven ‘falling’, the earth ‘reeling to and fro’ like a drunkard and much, much more.  We KNOW these things are coming and will happen.

We know earthquakes, volcanoes, wars and rumours of wars are and have happened and will increase…for it is written.  I would strongly encourage each reader that is a believer to take serious tie with the LORD and allow HIM to guide you.  We cannot go each day living in fear, for as the Bible declares, “fear has torment, but perfect love (GOD is LOVE) casts out fear.” [1Jn4:18]

If you are not a believer, I would strongly urge you to seek after your Creator because the place of torment (typically and popularly called ‘hell’) and the “lake of fire” are very real.  Repent of unrighteousness and wickedness (sins) and turn away from it. 

What is coming is inevitable and ‘will’ happen.  The entire earth (every nation, every tongue, every tribe and clan) will be affected.  We are witnessing God’s judgment upon the earth, but the worst is yet to come.  Woe to those who must endure God’s wrath though.  It will make His judgment look like a walk in the park.

Even little children learn and come to know that everything on this earth dies.  We all have an appointed time to die.  The important thing is whether we die in Christ or not, meaning whether we are saved (salvation) or not.  We all have a choice.  Choose wisely!

Our Saviour (He who willingly offered up His own life as a blood sacrifice, as atonement for sins) spoke these very words:


And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
That whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved.
He that believes on Him is not condemned: but he that believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.   And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

For every one that does evil hates the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that does truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.  [Jn 3:14-21]
Selah

for His glory

Bonita              dovesofthevalleys4@gmail.com

(Note* - I have been working hard in the background preparing my book "First the Inside of the Cup" (for free reading) - BUT ALSO, preparing my website, so that I do not have to put up with these crazy white blocks that show up on this site.  I truly do apologize for the messy look of it, but for the life of me, I cannot figure out why Blogspot does that in the editing box.  My apologies... soon, my new website will have content and hopefully all readers from here will then grow accustomed to my new, more user-friendly site...without these ridiculous whited-out boxes of text.

Your understanding and particularly your patience, loyalty and support is appreciated more than words can express.  Shalom of Christ be upon you and yours.  bonita)