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    Quarantine: Communities coming together

    Someone down the street has ReDS. What next?

    Started by: lehall Raves:11

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    How can communities deal with ReDS outbreaks - what's the best way to prevent rumor and misinformation, what methods can we use to help care for people while keeping others safe?

    In a contagion outbreak, treatment has to be done in isolation. Local problems need local solutions. Current practice of \\\"destination medicine\\\" will escalate the spread of the contagion. Affected families contact the nearest healthcare provider equipped to deal with the situation using internet-enabled mobile phones and location tracked via GPS.

    Help them! In times like these, all we\\\'ve got is each other. Mask and glove up and bring them some soup. Unless you want the soldiers coming in and locking down your neighborhood.

    I gotta agree with jimmyjazz!! In theory!! The truth is, I\\\'m quite scared. I want to be that person who dives right in despite the dangers, but hell-- I don\\\'t want to get it. A number of communities have been cropping up suggesting we talk about reds, through art or stories or however else. Remember ActUp in the 1980s? Me neither, I was born in 82. But anyway, the number one thing that kept hysteria under control while informing the public how to prevent the disease was TALK and EXPOSURE rather than reaction. When AIDS first broke out, people thought it was airborne, that it was something that happened naturally to gay people (\\\"gay cancer\\\"), that there was no way we could track or control it. HIV positive people were shunned and even kept out of school. We can\\\'t treat these people like they don\\\'t exist. We have to find a way for both of us to have a high quality life. There is a way to protect ReDs!! It\\\'s called Prot3ct, and it\\\'s expensive. But it\\\'s a start! And isn\\\'t there a bacteria that has already been developed by renogade scientists in Russia?? All I\\\'m saying is that the ol\\\' \\\"isolate em and then forget em\\\" trick plays out more like a noxema commercial than a way to deal with humans. Do I have a solution? No. But yall seem pretty smart, we\\\'re on our way!

    I think the best way to prevent rumor is to inform the people. Maybe we can do posters describing the symphtoms, saying what should be done if you are experimenting them, how to prevent ReDS, if it is contagious and how, etc. If we do that we should translate them to other languages (especially to the languages of the most affected zones).

    If you live in a country with decent governmental public health, you might be surprised by the amount of information available. In the US, for example, local public health departments have developed Preparedness Units after 2001. You can find all sorts of information on their websites, including \\\"how-to\\\" manuals that cover topics like caring for the sick and house-hold infection control. It\\\'s also a great way to keep track of what\\\'s going on locally without leaving your home if you\\\'ve got internet (and it\\\'s still working). If you don\\\'t have internet, make sure to get the public health hot-line phone numbers, and you can get a lot of the same info. The second ReDS came up on the surveillance radar as a moderate threat, the public health departments started developing these community aids.

    Which is great. But Pharmakos, I am worried about Asia. The fact is, ReDs is taboo to talk about here. It is considered a disease for those of low social standing. To have a family member with it would be the ultimate loss of face. I feel lucky to be an American sometimes because I do feel like I can talk about anything. While many Asians enjoy cheap and high quality health care, they are often too embarassed to even go to the doctor here. Can we get some kind of website up for the linked-in in Asia?

    I\\\'m telling you I think they should be put on a deserted island in the middle of the ocean for the rest of their lives. I shouldn\\\'t have to hide or run away because of it. That\\\'s just ridiculous. Now I have to worry about someone sneezing on me and I could die????

    P. Cash - That\\\'s a really good point, and something that we\\\'ve seen multiple times in the past, including SARS and even plague in Chinatown, SF in 1900. These associations between sickness, social standing and shame are deeply entrenched, and not only in Asia. When people are actively hiding their sick, it\\\'s bad biologically, but also increases panic. Maybe we should campaign that coming forth and going to doctors is the best way to support your community- try to alleviate the shame aspect as much as possible? I think that a website for Asia is a great idea, but it really needs to be backed-up by the Asian government and community leaders to have any effect. What can we do to get them on-board - their record with SARS showed a reluctance to communicate. Do you think that is still a prevailing perspective, or has that changed over the last 10 years? Also, do you think that radio may reach more people?

    Jazz and Pamela, you are dangerously mis-informed. I work in the health care industry and know a thing or two abotu disease control. It would be irresponsible to \\\"mask and glove up\\\" and bring them soup, thus putting myself and my family at risk. Close contact with infected individuals needs to be performed by properly trained and equipped healthcare professionals. This is NOT AIDS. I can walk up to an AIDS patient and shake his hand without any risk of catching it. ReDS is completely different. A little paranoia might be a very good thing.

    Don\\\'t let the fear seize you. It\\\'s incapacitating. Death is not the end. It\\\'s our children and what we leave behind for them that will determine the outcome of the human race. The human spirit must prevail. We have to be able to look back and live with our conscience. To do our children proud.

    Well, since we've launched Panda we've made available statistics of infected for the communities, we also plot a rough radius for proximity searches. Since we can aggregate real time data, we can also set safety level warnings for various parts of the day. However, when it comes to aid, we have a pre-existing list of peace corps, red cross, and united way volunteers that have ReDS. They frequently deliver food and aid. Since we are also starting to establish specific aid distribution sites, this allows us to specify a route to follow. We will also be mandating in the near future, that anyone who goes out into public wear filter masks, and gloves.

    What if the help-personell (red cross++) had a routine check for ReDS? It isn't exactly very benefitial for anyone of they run around spreading it aswell? Thumbs up for protection! as for what namrepus said, I do agree.

    In Los Angeles we've started a multi-lingual media campaign to inform the public on reDS basics, and contact information for free county health clinics specializing in reDS. We are also working with in the public schools to raise awareness of reDS and mitigate the stigma associated with the disease. What do you think we should do to reach out to at risk communities, and to encourage prudent behavior without fear-mongering?

    reDS is not possible to control effectively in populations with high-density living and work arrangements. If the disease is in fact spread in the same way as the common cold, and patients remain contagious for prolonged periods of time. Major cities will have their populations thinned dramatically, before population density levels are down to a level where transmission can be controlled. Write-off between 50-80% of the population of the worlds major tropical and sub-tropical cities. And now consider the effects this would have on various infrastructures and businesses.

    A sense of responsibility is one of the most important things that we have to develop now as human beings, we are now not only responsible for our own health but the health of everyone that we come in contact with. i Personally try to stay well alerted and informed on any ReDS outbreaks and news through the internet either on my mobile phone or my computer at home. I am well aware of all the ReDS earliest symptoms as well as the ones that can be misinterpreted. As a primary health care provider i work with every prevention measure available and try to keep all my patients educated on these preventive measures as well to protect themselves and their families. As i mentioned before i believe that education and responsability are two extremely important values, if i would suspect that i may have become infected i would immediately take action in preventing the spread of the disease to my loved ones. The use of masks, ReDS protection systems, and all other sanitizing methods are a must among responsible citizens.

    In response to 'jimmyjazz2019', it is a well known fact that no personal pretective equipment (PPE) is better than wrong PPE. Lets you go in with mask and gloves, but it is the wrong type of mask, or the mask has been used past its capacity. You will act confident, because you think you are protected, but in turn this will actually put you at higher risk. A note to Pamela Cash, just to play Devil's Advocate ~ what if the stigma against have ReDS in Asian nations was increased rather than decreased? If they are worried of losing face or disgracing family members they will stay inside...if they attempt to hide it by staying inside, they have effectivly quarentined themselves. I am not saying this is the way to go by any stretch, I just think exploring all options and seeing things from the other side is always benificial.

    On the actual question at hand as to how communities can deal with ReDS. We need to keep things in perspective and not overeact. The CDC & FEMA will help us through these difficult times. What all of us should do immediatly though is get in touch with local lawmakers and your Senetor/Congressman and let them know that we the people will NOT stand for cuts to healthcare...no matter what other problems we may be facing. The CDC needs its powers to enforce extended. Currently the CDC can only RECOMEND that people not travel, and does not have the authority to actually enforce this. The military has this authority when authorized. If a state has a severe problem with ReDS the Govenor may call a State of Emergency and call in the National Guard (this seems to be the failsafe for when government officials don't know how to maintain order or cope). The National Guard will be called in because they have the authortiy to act and enforce under these circumstances. If you don't want the Military patrolling your streets for the sick, tell your local officals that Health Inspectors and other government Health Offcials need they authority to act broadened. Our military has much more pressing matters to deal with abroad than to be guarding the streets here.

    we need civic solutions to hygenic issues. the maintenance of quality in care needs to be re-established as a major priority. We need to be able to give more than one bowl of soup.

    As you said there needs to be local solutions to these problems. If the infected are put in local quarantine areas and are treated there instead of being in the non infected population it would reduce the infection rate.

    there should be ReDS facilities for ReDs cases




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