One of the stories making the news here in Italy is the arrest of Daniela Poggiali, 42, a nurse who is accused of killing at least 38 of her patients because she found them or their relatives to be annoying. She was initially charged in the death of an elderly patient and now police believe that she is a serial killer.
The case of Rosa Calderoni draw attention of the authorities because she been admitted for a routine illness and when she died there were high levels of potassium in her bloodstream. At least 10 other deaths are now being listed as “very suspicious”.
Prosecutor Rossella Materia called her a sadist who “who draws pleasure in provoking the death of the patients in her care.” One picture on her phone reportedly shows her giving a thumbs up next to when of her patients who had died seconds before. The public statements are an interesting dimension since Italy prosecutes people for criminal libel, as in the abusive case against the parents of Amanda Knox that we discussed earlier. While comments against the police can bring a charge, it clearly does not apply when prosecutors make such comments against individuals.
Even a colleague described her as a “cold person who was always eager to work.” This included the allegation from a co-worker that Poggiali would give patients strong laxatives at the end of her shift to make work more difficult for the nurses taking over.
Poggiali told police that she is innocent and the victim of a conspiracy by her enemies.
The case could prove very difficult given the length of time that has passed.
Source: MSN
There are multiple organizations treating Ebola in Africa. The first two American health care workers who were flown back here for treatment were part of religious organizations. But Doctors Without Borders are there, too.
I am thankful for everyone who goes overseas to battle infectious disease, at great risk to their lives.
http://youtu.be/Ve53RgvMCq8
I don’t know if they use the Pyxis system in Italy. Perhaps they should.
It’s not that Obama “caused” the Ebola outbreak. He just can’t seem to handle any international crisis, or tell the truth.
When he said it was highly unlikely that Ebola would come to our shores, I remember thinking, “Based on what???” We live in a global economy. It has an incubation period of 21 days. Checking people’s vitals at the airport will screen out those at >= 21 days, period. And if they used a questionnaire and not a vital check, that would screen out no one like Duncan.
My problem with this lunatic denial policy is that it wasted time when we could have been preparing. If they didn’t want to close our borders to infected nations, then they could have monitored or quarantined those travelers.
And although some hospitals have excellent infectious disease wings, not very many do, or are currently competent to handle Ebola. Or whatever the next virulent disease is going to be.
And training needs to cover all staff, including the cleaning crew. I recall reading a line about how they were mopping the patient’s room with bleach. Well, did they use enough bleach? Did they use the same mop to clean everyone else’s room and the hallway? Could the handle of the mob become contaminated, which could cross-contaminate multiple surfaces?
I have a PDF of the “Viruses” paper. Anyone know how I can post it? Otherwise, you can look it up.
Nick – I agree that the CDC and the hospital are completely wrong to blame the nurse’s Ebola on a breach of protocol when they DON’T KNOW how she got it.
First it was that direct contact was needed, now it’s 3 feet. She either got it because there are avenues of transmission that the CDC are not aware of, such as respiratory, she got it while getting out of her suit, or other people who treated him got contaminated while getting out of their suit, and contaminated an outside surface which she touched. There are multiple sources of transmission, and blaming the nurse victim does not seem right before they know what happened. And they might never know.
But I just read a paper on Ebola. The index human case is typically from entering/working in mines where the host species, bats, live, or from eating fruit bats or eating fruit an infected bat partially ate. These are African bats, not American bat species, who have adapted to survive the virus, so there is no risk of that here. The transmission appears to be from aerosolized particles, either guano or saliva droplets, although further research is needed. There was a paper in “Viruses” this year on African bats and Ebola.
When a human Ebola patient starts coughing up blood or phlegm, those particles aerosolize, presumably with infectious virus. So, as the disease progresses, the patient may become more infectious, because he or she has more body fluids exposed via bleeding, coughing, vomit, diarrhea. Although more research is needed to determine all avenues of transmission, it would be wise to take precautions for a respiratory possibility.
And I also agree that nurses, doctors, and the cleaning crew need to have training on how to handle Ebola. It is my understanding that they just hired a local cleaning crew for the apartment where the index US patient lived. And that man, Duncan, was a complete maniac to go stay with his family, with children, knowing he had been exposed to Ebola. And then that family refused to remain quarantined. The CDC arrived for their twice daily vitals, only to discover the family had gone out.
Karen – it appears that the CDC has changed its flawless protocols for Eboala.
http://patterico.com/2014/10/14/cdc-changes-their-flawless-ebola-protocol/
Wow. So that’s what a serial killer looks like on vacation after killing people.
Just like when police and judges break the law, it is a huge breach of trust, a betrayal, when a nurse harms or murders those in her care.
There will be many victims who have already been embalmed or cremated. I imagine it will be difficult to do any testing on past victims for the presence of excess potassium. Difficult, but not impossible, because they also proved their case against the Angel of Death here in the US. (That’s a euphemism I disliked. It made it sound like he was merciful, when he was just a homicidal maniac enjoying murder.)
Why didn’t they notice their inventory of the drug she used going down?
Ken, LOL! I LOVE capitalism and I love Halloween!
I knew this was going to happen!
Halloween is coming up. Guess what this year’s trick or treat costume theme is?
Scary Biohazard Mutant Zombie Hazmat & Biohazard Zombie Nurse costumes ($36.99). For kids of all ages. Biohazard Zombie Respirator mask sold separately ($9.99).
Ken – during the Tylenol scare I had a friend go as a huge Tylenol.
Olly, I think we can use the black humor from the Cold War nuclear days. In case of an Ebola epidemic, get into a squatting position under a sturdy table, place your head between your legs, AND KISS YOUR ASS GOODBYE!
Maybe Apple has an app for this!
“After your return to the United States
If you were exposed to Ebola during your trip, call your doctor even if you do not have symptoms. Your doctor should evaluate your exposure level and symptoms if you have them and consult with public health authorities to determine whether actions, such as medical evaluation and testing for Ebola, monitoring, or travel restrictions are needed.
Pay attention to your health after you return, even if you were not exposed to Ebola during your trip.
Monitor your health for 21 days if you were in an area with an Ebola outbreak.
Take your temperature every morning and evening.
Watch for other Ebola symptoms: severe headache, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, or unexplained bleeding or bruising.
If your temperature is 101.5°F (38.6°C) or higher or you have any other Ebola symptoms, seek medical care immediately.
Tell the doctor about your recent travel and your symptoms before you go to the doctor’s office or hospital. Advance notice will help the doctor care for you and protect other people who may be in the doctor’s office or hospital.
Limit your contact with other people when you travel to the doctor; avoid public transportation.
Do not travel anywhere except to the doctor’s office or hospital.
During the time that you are monitoring your health, you can continue your normal activities, including work. If you get symptoms of Ebola, it is important to stay apart from other people and to call your doctor right away.”
http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/warning/ebola-sierra-leone
And, remember the tried and trued rule about trolls. Don’t feed them.
That should be Romo. I have JT’s trip on my mind.
I’m looking for some Ebola/Tony Roma jokes, haven’t heard any yet.
Here it is from a competent detective:
(Homeland Terrorism & Instability We Can Believe In?, quoting Medical Detective).
Paul, On my sojourns west from Wi., gas gets cheaper and cheaper as I drive through the low tax states. Then I hit California and BAM!! When I drive through Oklahoma I usually get the cheapest gas.
Nick – my sister who lives in CA always makes sure she gasses up in Yuma before she crosses into CA. It is at least 40 cents more a gallon.
Road trip to Dallas Paul?
The message is clear: Don’t be annoying in state furnished health care!
The Italian nurse intentionally treated patients, some of the U.S. hospitals negligently are doing so.
This B.O. (before Obama):
“What would you think and feel if you were told that an organized group within the United States killed 424,000 Americans each year, and maimed millions more?
Is it al Queda, Inc. or Taliban LLC, or Right Wing Hate, Corp. we are talking about here?
The real haters of America would jump and shout for “joy” to be able to kill 424,000 of their enemy would they not?
A Dredd Blog article several months ago reported this shocking detail:
The article points out that deaths due to “iatrogenic causes” during hospital care results in 225,000 deaths per year in the United States.
The outpatient care which follows that hospitalization results in an additional 199,000 deaths due to those “iatrogenic causes”.
The not so grand total is 424,000 deaths per year that were due to negligence, accidents, or incompetence.
An “iatrogenic cause” is defined as:
i·at·ro·gen·ic: Induced in a patient by a physician’s activity, manner, or therapy. Used especially of an infection or other complication of treatment.
(Dictionary). What this boils down to is that, in the health care system discussed, the treatment is sometimes worse than the disease.
(Dredd on JAMA, cf. Med. Detective). In plain english, iatrogenic means “doctors bury their mistakes” which number into the hundreds of thousands, while we spend trillions of dollars chasing people who only kill a tiny number by comparison.”
(Terrorism We Can Believe In? – 2). Formatting and links removed to avoid punishment by WordMess.
DBQ, Living in Madison, I can tell you there is a lesbian obesity epidemic. I don’t consider it a health hazard as much as an aesthetic and logistical problem. Boarding a plane w/ a group of Madison lesbians takes forever!
“Allowing”, no one allowed Ebola here.