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   From: emmerichf@invalid.de   
      
   Merry Christmas from Obama.  More unwanted negro disease just in   
   time for Christmas.   
      
   Massachusetts General Hospital is treating a patient suspected   
   of having contracted the Ebola virus, Public Affairs Officer   
   Noah Brown has confirmed to Boston.com.   
      
   Dr. Paul Biddinger, Director Of Emergency Preparedness at MGH,   
   said the patient involved in the suspected Ebola case meets the   
   CDC definition of a “person under investigation” to possibly   
   have the ebola virus.   
      
   “This definition involves the possibility of travel to where   
   Ebola is present, the possibility of exposure to that virus, and   
   symptoms that are consistent with that virus,” Biddinger said at   
   a press conference Tuesday evening.   
      
   The patient is in stable condition and good spirits, according   
   to Biddinger. He declined to answer specific questions about the   
   patient—including travel history, potential exposure to others,   
   and location in the hospital—citing an inability to comment on   
   individual patient details. Biddiger did say, though, that there   
   is not a reason for panic.   
      
   “We feel extremely confident that all of our patients, all of   
   our staff, all of our visitors are completely safe,” he said.   
      
   Biddinger did not give an exact timetable for results, but said   
   a diagnosis with a definitive yes or no could take several days.   
   Preliminary tests results will come back in a staggered   
   fashion—some as early as tomorrow—but multiple tests might be   
   needed before the official diagnosis.   
      
   Boston Public Health Commission spokesperson McKenzie Ridings   
   said the commission does not comment on suspected cases of any   
   illness. The organization did release a statement later Tuesday   
   night:   
      
   It is the policy of the City of Boston and the Boston Public   
   Health Commission not to comment on suspect cases. For months,   
   BPHC has conducted extensive trainings, public awareness   
   campaigns, and coordination with our partners at the state level   
   and surrounding municipalities. We have full confidence in our   
   departments and healthcare organizations that we can keep Boston   
   residents and visitors safe and healthy.   
      
   The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention did not   
   immediately return a call seeking comment.   
      
   Steven Hatch, Assistant Professor of Medicine at UMass Medical   
   School, recently spent six weeks in Liberia treating Ebola   
   patients. The Boston physician is an infectious disease   
   specialist.   
      
   “All the other patients at Mass General are going to be fine.   
   I’m sure by now all the major hospitals in Massachusetts, as   
   part of a coordinated effort, have their act together.”   
      
   Despite having spent time surrounded by confirmed Ebola cases in   
   a Liberian clinic, Hatch said he never feared contracting the   
   disease.   
      
   “I never feared what would happen to me while I was over there.   
   Not because I didn’t think something bad might happen. I   
   understood I was putting my life on the line the same way I   
   think a soldier does going into battle. Fear is not going to   
   help you make good decisions.”   
      
   MGH sent a message to all of its current inpatients and staff   
   summarizing the same details shared during the press conference.   
   While an exact location of the patient was not given, Biddinger   
   said that the hospital is using a dedicated isolation area with   
   a special team of nurses, physicians, and infection control   
   staff.   
      
   MGH has been planning for months to handle the possibility of a   
   suspected Ebola case, undergoing training exercises to simulate   
   the evaluation and management process.   
      
   MGH has also been involved in testing devices that would allow   
   them to treat Ebola cases remotely. In a recent demonstration at   
   the Cambridge lab, researchers were able to manipulate the rate   
   at which a ventilator provided air, slowing and speeding the   
   breaths taken by a dummy patient.   
      
   http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2014/12/02/suspec   
   ted-ebola-patient-being-treated-boston-   
   hospital/kjQngynamiuqmmLOi3lrVN/story.html   
      
       
      
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