5-Month-Old Lancen Kendall of Phoenix Arizona becomes the seventh child to die as a result of Enterovirus D68 since mid-August.

Arizona – […]   Lancen Kendall, is one of 24 cases statewide that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is testing for the deadly D68 strain.

Lancen’s parents say he showed no signs or symptoms that he was sick and that he just didn’t wake up from a nap earlier this month. He was rushed to Banner Thunderbird Medical Center and, five days later, pronounced brain dead.

“The lack of warning is the scariest part to me. We didn’t know he was sick,” said his father, Kevin Kendall.

The death of their 5-month-old is still an impossible scenario for the couple. Their son always had a beaming smile and appeared healthy, they say, but doctors determined he was dying from a strain of the enterovirus.

“It’s kind of terrifying that it literally came out of nowhere,” said his mother, Kathleen Kendall.  (link)

Lancen’s death in Arizona follows the deaths of children in Michigan, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Illinois, Missouri and a severe case in Alabama. (more…)

D’oh – When is an emergency travel ban not an emergency “travel ban”? When a subject of the emergency travel ban is relaxing on a Caribbean cruise with a captive audience of potential transfer carriers!…. Yea, ya’ can’t make this stuff up.
Apparently when they went looking for all of the potentially exposed healthcare workers to quarantine they’ve found a few went on vacation.
This story is evolving quickly – Despite the AP report (below) the Belizean authorities are stating the Dallas Healthcare worker is exhibiting Ebola symptoms (also below) and refusing port entry for emergency airlift evacuation.  Armed Coast Guard vessels are forcing the Carnival Magic Cruise Ship to remain at sea.  This is quickly becoming an international incident.  There are 3,652 passengers on board and a total population of 4,633 souls at risk.  “The Ebola Cruise” !  (more…)

The advisors to the President feel this Oval Office update was effective, hence the upload to the White House site.

Key takeaways: The White House doesn’t support a travel ban (quarantine) from West Africa because it would drive people to be deceptive in their travel arrangements. In essence “they would lie”.
This position is undermined by the fact that patient Zero already lied to gain travel access to the U.S. subsequently creating the original Ebola exposure. This deception occurred while no travel ban is in place, so why would a travel ban increase the likelihood of deception? (more…)

Reminder – healthcare workers in Liberia are now on strike.

Pres Obama signs Exec Order authorizing use of Reservists to assist in US Military mission building Ebola treatment centers in West Africa.

— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) October 16, 2014

(more…)

Historic lows in Obama Polling “Coincide” With An Obama Change of Schedule

Major Garrett: Josh, couple of a months ago when the Malaysia Airlines jet was shot down over Ukraine. the President carried on with his campaign schedule. … A member of the staff said “abrupt changes to the president’s schedule could have unintended consequence of unduly alarming the American people or creating a false sense of crisis.” Did you do that today?

You might remember Major Garrett’s “hot mic” episode last week. (more…)

On the same day that White House spokesperson, Josh Earnest, states the official U.S. position is to continue allowing inbound flights from the Ebola hot zone of West Africa without change or impediment, the administration announces it will enforce mandatory quarantines’ for returning U.S. troops.
Yeah, go make sense of that….

The pentagon will quarantine returning U.S. soldiers, but will allow unimpeded access for West African citizens who choose to travel to the United States. You just can’t make this stuff up.
Washington (CNN) — In an unprecedented move to protect U.S. troops that might be exposed to Ebola, U.S. military commanders are being given the authority to quarantine troops for 21 days at a Defense Department facility where they will be monitored for signs of the disease and treated if they do contract the virus, a Defense Department memo explained.
The memo, which was obtained by CNN, spells out the details of the military’s plan for the first time. (more…)

This is what happens when you politicize a public health issue. Bureaucrats have to keep the concentric circles of protectionism around the President fully supported. Contradictions then become glaringly obvious.
CBS Reports Ms. Vinson was cleared to fly with a fever by the CDC.    Today the CDC says Ms. Vinson should never have flown.
You know…. well,… protocols and such.   Yeah…. watch:

(more…)

The most unfortunate outcome so far is that Ebola has become politicized.  Val Jar and McDonough are applying the political prism to every statement, policy, instruction, speech and action.  Hence all the inherent contradictions… 
EXAMPLE:

Vinson called CDC several times before flying, informed staff she had fever. It allowed her to fly, reports @DrLapook on @CBSEveningNews

— Jan Crawford (@JanCBS) October 15, 2014

WASHINGTON – White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest today reaffirmed that the government doesn’t think a travel ban between the U.S. and countries affected with Ebola is a good idea. Fox News’ Ed Henry asked, “Why is it still appropriate for the U.S. to allow people to fly to America from the hot zone?”

Earnest said, “Quite simply, Ed, because there are –– there’s a multi-layered screening protocol that’s in place to ensure that individuals that may have symptoms consistent with Ebola are not even able to board planes in West Africa.”
He said plenty of people haven’t been allowed on planes for that very reason, and there’s additional screening for any American who flew to that part of the world and wants to reenter the country. (more…)

President Obama Has Cancelled Tonight’s Fundraiser !!

CDC Thomas Frieden says:

“We have stopped every Ebola outbreak, until this one!

The second Ebola treatment nurse, diagnosed with Ebola herself, is a 29-year-old named Amber Vinson.
Riddle me this: The second nurse who has Ebola in Texas flew on a plane two days before apparently developing symptoms. The CDC is alarmed by the commercial travel method. The CDC says Ebola exposures should have “controlled travel” only, and wants 132 passengers who were on the plane with the nurse to call them ASAP. Why?

[Frontier Airlines] “At approximately 1:00 a.m. MT on October 15, Frontier was notified by the CDC that a customer traveling on Frontier Airlines flight 1143 Cleveland to Dallas/Fort Worth on Oct. 13 has since tested positive for the Ebola virus.

The flight landed in Dallas/Fort Worth at 8:16 p.m. local and remained overnight at the airport having completed its flying for the day at which point the aircraft received a thorough cleaning per our normal procedures which is consistent with CDC guidelines prior to returning to service the next day. It was also cleaned again in Cleveland last night. Previously the customer had traveled from Dallas Fort Worth to Cleveland on Frontier flight 1142 on October 10.  (link)

The CDC opposes a travel ban to/from West Africa. To support their position the CDC says if a person has no symptoms there is no reason to worry. They say the Dallas nurse, Amber Vinson, had no symptoms – yet her travel is alarming.  A contradiction, no? (more…)

…”It is Now Officially An Outbreak”…

THIS IS BREAKING NEWS – Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital is confirming another healthcare worker has now been diagnosed with Ebola as a result of their exposure to Patient Zero.
Two patients sickened as a result of one source of origination is the technical threshold for the term “outbreak“.
This second confirmed healthcare worker is being discussed as another nurse who was caring for the Liberian patient Thomas Duncan, patient zero.  The second worker reported a temperature on Tuesday, was tested, and the test result came back as positive for the deadly virus – The worker was immediately isolated.
This comes as  THE LARGEST US nurses’ union alleges that nurses at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, were not given proper protection or guidance in treating Ebola patient Thomas Duncan, while the condition of infected nurse Nina Pham, is upgraded to good.  (link)

Second Texas Health Worker Tests Positive For Ebola http://t.co/iGrLzOZflf

— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) October 15, 2014

Breaking: 2nd health care worker has tested positive for Ebola. They were immediately isolated on Tuesday at Presbyterian Hospital

— CBS News Texas (@CBSNewsTexas) October 15, 2014

1 day after CDC acknowledges its lapses in Texas #Ebola case, a SECOND health care worker tests positive. http://t.co/nxxLwNJIko

— Jim Roberts (@nycjim) October 15, 2014

Statement from Texas Health Department: (more…)