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Live chat: Ebola questions answered

Ask your questions now and medical professionals will answer them during a live chat at 2 p.m. Wednesday. Dr. Louis Katz, medical director of the Scott County Health Department, and Lisa Caffery, infection prevention coordinator for Genesis Health System, will join us.

3rd & 7 37yd

Taking questions will be:

Dr. Louis Katz
A native of Davenport and graduate of the University of Iowa Medical School, Katz is the longtime medical director of the Scott County Health Department.

Katz, 64, also is the chief medical officer of America’s Blood Centers, an organization based in Washington, D.C., that coordinates blood centers in 45 states.

Additionally, he teaches at his alma mater, serving as adjunct clinical professor for infectious diseases and internal medicine at the Carver College of Medicine at the University of Iowa.

Formerly, he was the hospital epidemiologist for Genesis Health System in Davenport. He had a clinical practice there for many years, treating hundreds of Quad-City AIDS patients.

Lisa Caffery
Caffery, a registered nurse, is board-certified in infection prevention and control, as well as medical surgical nursing.

She has worked at Genesis Health System for 32 years with a focus on infection prevention for 16 years.

Caffery, 54, coordinates infection control for the health system, which means she oversees activities associated with preventing infections, including surveillance of communicable diseases in its hospitals.

by Quad-City Times 10/15/2014 3:17:08 PM

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One common conclusion about the recent Ebola Outbreak, is that the public over-reacts with misinformation, and unnecessary fear. While that can be explained as a very human reaction, it is also the responsibility of newspapers, including the Quad-City Times, to offer the most accurate information available.
In the online arena, there is exhaustive information on Ebola from the federal Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, based in Atlanta. Luckily it is an easy website to remember: cdc.gov
Our experts today: Dr. Louis Katz, medical director of the Scott County Health Department, Davenport; and Lisa Caffery, Infection Prevention Coordinator at Genesis Health System, Davenport.
We are now “chatting” about Ebola. What questions do you have?

by dbaker 10/15/2014 6:52:47 PM

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Dr. Katz: In response to question, the risk is very low but not zero. We have been doing a lot of preparation and continue to prepare. We will adjust as facts change, which is happening very quickly.

by Lisa Caffery 10/15/2014 6:53:52 PM

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Welcome to our guests and readers. It's 2 p.m. so we'll officially get started now. Thanks for joining us.

by Quad-City Times 10/15/2014 7:00:11 PM

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Dr. Katz: It's not easy to transmit. Ebola requires direct contact with an ebola patient who is symptomatic. If you haven't been in direct contact, the risk is very low. The virus is not transmitted by air.

by Lisa Caffery 10/15/2014 7:02:28 PM

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How much MORE of a threat are measles, influenza and pertussis to Americans (than Ebola)?

by David Dwyer 10/15/2014 7:02:42 PM

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Lisa Caffery: There has been a lot of misinformation and the situation is changing constantly.

by Lisa Caffery 10/15/2014 7:03:35 PM

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Thank you both for taking time to answer questions. With the news coming out that the Dallas hospital was at best unprepared to handle ebola, and at worst maddeningly negligent in their "precautions," what is the situation here in the QC? Say the recent headline-making Liberian immigrant begins showing symptoms - are we prepared to handle a local outbreak? Do we transport potentially-infected people to Iowa City/Peoria/Chicago? Or do we attempt to handle it despite a lack of preparation and repeat the Dallas situation?

by literallywearingahazmatsuit 10/15/2014 7:03:51 PM

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Lisa Caffery: Transmission threat is much greater with measles, mumps and influenza. One person with measles can transmit to 15 to 20. Mumps is 7-10. Influenza depends on the strain. Some strains are more infectious. Ebola is 2 to 1.

by Lisa Caffery 10/15/2014 7:05:06 PM

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How safe is travel at all?

by Karin Slyter 10/15/2014 7:05:34 PM

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Dr. Katz: We still don't know all the details about what happened in Dallas and can't address from here.

by Lisa Caffery 10/15/2014 7:07:31 PM

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is Ebola in the state of Iowa?

by nancu 10/15/2014 7:07:40 PM

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Lisa Caffery: Hospitals have been meeting, preparing, refreshing staff training and developing protocols and procedures. We're monitoring the siuation and will adjust protocols as more information is available. It's a very fluid situation right now with messages coming from CDC to health care organization on a daily basis.

by Lisa Caffery 10/15/2014 7:09:32 PM

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Dr. Katz: Travel is safe at this time because transmission is by direct contact. I flew yesterday.

by Lisa Caffery 10/15/2014 7:10:20 PM

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Lisa Caffery: No ebola virus in Iowa or Illinois at this time.

by Lisa Caffery 10/15/2014 7:11:03 PM

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Thanks for setting up this live event! Could you please compare the recent outbreak of Ebola to other diseases such as MRSA and SARS in terms of the chances of infection among the U.S. population?

by ittycar 10/15/2014 7:11:37 PM

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Lisa Caffery: Back to preparations: Genesis staff is asking all patients with possible symptoms of ebola about recent travel history. It is important to be honest about travel history if asked.

by Lisa Caffery 10/15/2014 7:11:53 PM

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Dr. Katz: The symptoms of ebola virus are similar to symptoms for many viruses; headache, body ache, fever, nausea ... etc. It is very unusual for an ebola patients to have bleeding from eyes, ears or nose.

by Lisa Caffery 10/15/2014 7:17:26 PM

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So Dr Katz, if it is safe, why are they contacting everyone that was on the flight with the second person?

by Homer Simpson 10/15/2014 7:17:47 PM

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Dr. Katz: MRSA is much more common in community and in healthcare environments than ebola. SARS has been gone since 2003-2004. Influenza is a much much greater risk this winter in the community. Between 3,000 and 40,000 Americans die each year from complications of seasonal influenza.

by Lisa Caffery 10/15/2014 7:20:35 PM

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Is the incubation period 21days or the 42days they are now claiming

by Ruseriousqc 10/15/2014 7:20:54 PM

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I read somewhere that those that are worried about Ebola in the Quad Cities should get a flu shot. What would a flu shot have to do with Ebola? The only thing that I could think of would be that if you got the flu your immune system would be lowered making you more vulnerable. Your thoughts on that.

by Nervous1 10/15/2014 7:23:30 PM

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What created Ebola?

by Ray 10/15/2014 7:26:18 PM

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According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Tom Frieden, the Ebola virus might be airborne.

“It’s the single greatest concern I’ve ever had in my 40-year public health career,” said Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. “I can’t imagine anything in my career- and this includes HIV- that would be more devastating to the world than a respiratory transmissible Ebola virus.”

Can you speak to this?

by a mom 10/15/2014 7:29:50 PM

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Even thought I am less than thrilled with the fact we have Ebola in this country for the first time,it does give the medical community an opportunity to study it like never before. When it is caught in its earliest stages as is the case with the two healthcare workers,do you have any idea what the treatment consists of? I was wondering if anti-nausea and anti diarrhea medications are included in an IV. Or is vomiting and diarrhea the way you get the virus out of your system if it doesn't kill you first?

by Outdoorsgirl 10/15/2014 7:45:40 PM

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How long can Ebola live outside of the body?

by Tia Mundt 10/15/2014 7:51:16 PM

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How much time would it take before they find a cure?

by Jay 10/15/2014 7:53:17 PM

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What's the best advice you can give on overall prevention and do us Americans have a better chance of beating the virus opposed to the western Africans. Thank you.

by worried American 10/15/2014 7:55:01 PM

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