Ebola Outbreak: How Prepared is Massachusetts?

Friday, August 01, 2014

Kate Nagle, GoLocal Contributor

How prepared is Massachusetts if Ebola were to land within the Commonwealth's borders?

As of Thursday, over 700 recent Ebola-related deaths in West Africa had been confirmed, making it the deadliest outbreak in the history of the disease. The U.S. Peace Corps is now evacuating hundreds of its volunteers in the affected countries and two Peace Corps workers are under isolation after having contact with someone who died from the Ebola virus. Now, at least one American is slated to return to the U.S. for treatment, according to the Chicago Tribune.

SLIDES: See Biggest Epidemics in New England History BELOW

The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency said any issue of a case -- or cases -- of Ebola would be addressed by the Massachusetts Department of Health. "This could be addressed by DPH," said Peter Judge with MEMA.

The Department of Health, when asked if Massachusetts is prepared for an outbreak, who would be in charge, where would people be quarantined, and what could be shut down in the event of a mass outbreak, said the following.

"You should contact the CDC. They issued guidance to hospitals earlier this week and they would be the lead agency," said Anne Roach at DPH, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "You may also want to contact area hospitals directly as they received the guidance from the CDC."

Governor Deval Patrick's office did not respond to the same set of questions.

CDC on the Record

On Thursday, CDC Director Dr. Tom Friedan said on a press conference call that while the situation was worsening in West Africa, that CDC was taking steps to "make sure Americans are safe here."

"Ebola is frightening. It is a dreadful and merciless virus, and this i the biggest, most complex [outbreak] and first time it's been present in this region," said Friedan, of the virus presence in West Africa. "The key means of stopping Ebola is fundamentally doing 3 things -- finding patients, so we can rapidly ID isolate patients, find out their contacts, and keep it from spreading. "

CDC provides a comprehensive overview of Ebola on its website, including a signs and symptoms chart for the hemorrhagic fever, as well as fact sheet and information for living and working abroad. The CDC writes that "symptoms may appear anywhere from 2 to 21 days after exposure to ebolavirus though 8-10 days is most common."

"We also are strengthening each of the countries commitment to limiting travel for people who may have been exposed, airport screening to ensure people who shouldn't be traveling aren't traveling," said Friedan, who noted the CDC was issuing a travel advisory recommending against non-essential travel to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leonne.

Friedan continued, "We recognize there are concerns in the U.S. but Ebola has little risk to the general population. "It's important to recognized how it spreads -- if there's little that's reassuring. First, it does not spread between people who aren't sick with it -- so if someone's been exposed, but not sick with severe symptoms....it's body fluids that must be shared that's the infection risk," adding that certain burial rites in Africa are a way of speading it.

In the U.S., Friedan was confident the response to any exposure here would be sufficient. "We would have health departments do fever checks for 21 days for someone who might have been exposed," said Friedan. "There's not a potential for Ebola to spread in the U.S., it's just not in the cards.

States Responses Measured

Overall, how well does Massachusetts rate for emergency preparedness?

Last December, the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation along with the Trust for America's Health put out at report entitled "Outbreaks: Protecting Americans from Infectious Diseases," which evaluated states based on 10 indicators.

Massachusetts scored a 5 out of 10, including getting a notch for public health lab reports having the capacity in place to assure the timely transportation (pick up or delivery) of samples 24/7/365 days to the appropriate LRN laboratory.

Massachusetts did not meet the criteria, however, for having public health lab reports having a plan and capacity to handle a significant surge in testing over a six to eight week period in response to an outbreak that increases testing over 300%.

See how Massachusetts scored -- and compare to other states -- for infectious disease preparedness HERE.

Related Slideshow: The History of Disease Outbreaks in New England

Prev Next

New England Smallpox 1633

European settlers brought Smallpox to America in the 17th century, and it is estimated that more than 70% of the Native American population in the northeast was wiped out by the disease between 1633 and 1634.

Smallpox has been eradicated from the United States for over 60 years.

Prev Next

Boston Smallpox 1721

Nearly 6,000 Bostonians contracted Smallpox in 1721, with 844 of them ultimately dying from the disease.

The Smallpox outbreak in Boston incited great debate about the use of inoculation in the United States, a practice that is obviously observed today.

Prev Next

Tuberculosis 1800-1922

With a near 80% mortality rate among those infected, "The White Plague" struck worldwide and at home in the United States, particularly in industrial areas.

According to research by the Harvard Medical Library, nearly 40% of deaths of working-class people in urban American cities were cause by Tuberculosis.

Prev Next

Influenza 1918

A worldwide pandemic that struck during World War 1, the "Spanish Flu" caused mass destruction in the United States and abroad.

20 million people across the globe are estimated to have died from the flu pandemic, with 675,000 Americans among the death toll.

Prev Next

Polio 1952

58,000 cases of Polio and over 3,000 resulting deaths were reported in the 1952 epidemic in the United States.

The disease affects the nervous system, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt is probably the most notable person to live with the disease.

Polio has been eradicated in the United States for over 30 years.

Prev Next

Asian Flu 1957

While not as lethal as the 1918 Influenza Pandemic, the "Asian Flu" caused almost 70,000 American deaths in before it was eradicated.

The Asian Flu is caused by the same virus that causes bird flu and swine flu.

Prev Next

Holy Cross Football Hepatitis 1969

After being trounced on the second Saturday of the 1969 college football season by Dartmouth, the Holy Cross football team had each member get blood work done to determine if there was a medical reason for their poor performance.

90 out of 97 players on the team had elevated levels of a liver enzyme, and 30 of those 90 players showed symptoms of Hepatitis-A.

Dr. Leonard Morse, who went on to become the Commissioner of Public Health in Worcester, helped determine the cause of the sickness- a contaminated drinking water supply that only the football players had accessed.

The remainder of the season was canceled (an NCAA first) and the 30 players showing symptoms were quarantined in a single dormitory.

Prev Next

AIDS Epidemic 1980s

While not documented until 1981, the HIV virus and AIDS continues to be one of the most debilitating diseases alive today in the United States.

Progress has been made over the years, as education about the virus and how to prevent it have brought the world from "AIDS is Preventable" to "AIDS is Treatable."

Prev Next

New Hampshire Hepatitis 2012

30 people were diagnosed with Hepatitis-C in 2012 after a former hospital worker stole syringes and intentionally contaminated them with the disease, of which he was afflicted.

After pleading guilty to charges in New Hampshire, the perpetrator was sentenced to 39 months in jail.

Prev Next

Vermont Whooping Cough 2012

Vermont declared a whooping cough epidemic in 2012 after over 500 cases of the disease were reported. 90% of the afflicted were children who had received the not-so-foolproof vaccine.

Whooping cough- also known as Pertussis- is difficult to diagnose initially because it starts with cold-like symptoms and progresses into a life threatening illness.