Today and tomorrow, we wait and see if Dallas County Sheriff’s Deputy Michael Monnig becomes the second confirmed case of Ebola in the United States.
The story of Monnig’s connection to Thomas Eric Duncan, the first confirmed case of Ebola in the U.S., emerged during an emotional afternoon of developments in the ongoing public health drama in North Texas. Monnig was among the first responders who went to a Dallas apartment where Thomas Eric Duncan had been staying before he was admitted to a hospital.
Duncan died Wednesday morning in the hospital.
Several hours later, the story got more complicated. Monnig, said to reside in The Colony, felt ill and went to a CareNow clinic in Frisco. He reported to clinic staff that he was among those who had been to Duncan’s apartment. As of this writing on Wednesday afternoon, no one in officialdom has confirmed that Monnig has Ebola. It is unconfirmed.
The Denton County Health Department is now involved in the Monnig investigation because the CareNow clinic serves both the Collin County and Denton County residents of Frisco.
Now, we are left to wonder where the whole Ebola story might lead if — and it’s a big if — the virus spreads in North Texas. We need to educate ourselves and hew closely to science and facts. Do not pay attention to wild speculation about a possible outbreak.
Perform a random online search for Ebola, and you’ll probably find some good information, but it will be difficult to sift it out of all the mindless muck, conspiracy theories and alarmist propaganda.
Instead, we recommend a quick visit to http://dentoncounty.com, Denton County’s website, where you’ll find plenty of reliable information about Ebola.
For example, you’ll read that you can’t get Ebola through air, food or water, which should ease many of the worries you have about casual exposure to the disease.
According to information on the website, you can only get Ebola from touching the blood or body fluids of a person who is sick with or has died from Ebola, or from touching contaminated objects such as needles or infected animals.
The bottom line, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is this: Ebola poses no significant risk to the United States.
Sure, it’s scary to watch TV and listen to the talking heads speak in strained voices about the Ebola threat, but we’ve had plenty of new health threats pop up in recent years, and our medical personnel and first responders have been well trained to stay ahead of all of them.
Jody Gonzalez, emergency management coordinator for the county, told us recently that staff members have been reviewing guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention since August.
After Duncan’s case was confirmed, daily emails have been going out to area first responders and emergency officials to help them train and review CDC guidelines on transport and care of patients, Gonzalez said.
Matt Richardson, Denton County health director, said the county is staying ahead of the Ebola curve with information and preparation dating back as far as 2000.
“The first important thing we’re doing is we’re in constant communication with the state health department and Dallas and constant communication with our [own] medical providers,” he said.
Richardson said the county response preparation includes compiling information for the public about isolation and quarantine guidelines and making sure that emergency call centers are adequately staffed.
Denton Fire Department Battalion Chief Brian Glenn said his department has long-standing guidelines for isolating patients with communicable diseases and for dealing with contaminated victims.
Emergency officials tell us they are preparing in case Ebola happens to surface here, just as they did decades ago when word began to spread about AIDS and just as they did to protect us from swine flu and chickungunya.
Ebola is a frightening disease, but health officials and medical personnel are on guard, as always.
Now, let’s keep our fingers crossed that Deputy Monnig does not turn out to be the second confirmed case of Ebola contracted in the U.S.
