As you’ve heard in the media, Emory University Hospital plans to receive a patient with Ebola virus infection in the next several days. Please be assured that our hospital is prepared and ready to handle this situation. We have a highly specialized, isolated unit in the hospital that was set up in collaboration with the CDC to treat patients who are exposed to certain serious infectious diseases. This unit is physically separate from other patient areas and has unique equipment and infrastructure that provide an extraordinarily high level of clinical isolation. In fact, Emory University Hospital is one of just four facilities in the entire country with such a specialized unit. Emory University Hospital physicians, nurses and staff are highly trained in the specific and unique protocols and procedures necessary to treat and care for this type of patient. For this specially trained staff, these procedures are practiced on a regular basis throughout the year, so we are fully prepared for this type of situation.
In a press conference held Friday afternoon, Emory University Hospital confirmed it will treat two patients with Ebola virus infection who are being transported by air ambulance from Africa. Please rest assured that it is safe for patients and their family members to come to Emory University Hospital. The Ebola virus is not an airborne virus. In other words, it cannot be contracted by casual contact (walking by a person, etc.). It can be contracted only through direct contact with bodily fluids, such as direct contact with the blood of an infected patient. In a statement made Tuesday afternoon, Emory University Hospital confirmed that a second American patient with Ebola virus has been transferred from an overseas location to a special isolation facility in Emory University Hospital for treatment as anticipated. After ambulance transfer from Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Georgia, the patient arrived at Emory University Hospital on Tuesday, Aug. 5. Our expertly trained physicians, nurses and staff at Emory University Hospital safely and securely received the second patient.
In the interest of patient privacy, we will not be providing updates on the patients’ conditions; however, you can continue to find answers to frequently asked questions here. Tags: CDC, ebola, ebola virus, Emory Healthcare Liberia: Harvard Scientist Claims Selenium Can Treat Ebola In an article just published in the British Journal of Medicine and Medical Research, Harvard University researcher Dr Boguslaw Lipinski claims that selenium can treat Ebola virus disease (EVD). His paper says that a specific form of selenium, sodium selenite, found in nutritional supplements can reduce the infectivity and therefore the reproduction of Ebola and HIV viruses. The article entitled: "Can Selenite be an Ultimate Inhibitor of Ebola and Other Viral Infections?" explains that sodium selenite (selenium) can reduce or prevent viruses from entering cells to infect them. He writes, "This inexpensive and readily available food supplement can be an ultimate inhibitor of Ebola and other enveloped viral infections."
It is beautiful science with a truly translational impact Dr David Markovitz, of the University of Michigan Medical School, said: “What we’ve done is exciting because there is potential for BanLec to develop into a broad spectrum antiviral agent.”BanLec sticks to chains of sugar molecules and its use as a miracle antiviral has potential because most of the world’s deadliest viruses are covered in exactly the sort of sugar molecules that banana lectin prefers.GETTYWhen these viruses are covered in lectin, they become harmless. Jonathan Ball, Professor of Molecular Virology at the University of Nottingham, said: “Each new virus outbreak is a timely reminder of our need for antivirals to work against a range of viruses."Lectins have that potential as they are able to bind to the sugars present on the surface of a range of viruses including HIV, influenza and Ebola, many of which have caused or have the potential to cause severe epidemics or even pandemics.”BanLec was previously shown to be a powerful virus inhibitor but it also caused inflammation, which limited its use as a treatment.