There is a new press release put out by the WHO today that has some food for thought in it that I have not seen elsewhere.

First, just a general statement about the situation in West Africa:
Quote:
In Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, new cases continue to explode in areas that looked like they were coming under control...WHO epidemiologists see no signs that the outbreaks in any of these 3 countries are coming under control.

In the section called "Incubation period" is the following paragraph:
Quote:
Recent studies conducted in West Africa have demonstrated that 95% of confirmed cases have an incubation period in the range of 1 to 21 days; 98% have an incubation period that falls within the 1 to 42 day interval...

So...in this new West African outbreak, there were/are some Ebola cases that appeared more than 21 days after infection? That's news to me! So is quarantine for 21 days sufficient? When the CDC's Dr. Tom Frieden says on TV that "...even a single infection is unacceptable" then this news makes you wonder about the 21-day guideline.

And finally, there's the statement:
Quote:
WHO is alarmed by media reports of suspected Ebola cases imported into new countries that are said, by government officials or ministries of health, to be discarded as “negative” within hours after the suspected case enters the country.

Such rapid determination of infection status is impossible, casting grave doubts on some of the official information that is being communicated to the public and the media.

Except for Mr Duncan and Ms Pham, all the other "possible" Ebola cases in various locations in the US have been declared to be "negative," many within a short period of time. Have we been given a false sense of security by these rapid declarations? Presumably, the travel histories have ruled out most potential cases quickly, but if any of them had questionable histories, has rapid negative announcements been premature? Again, food for thought.