Not ADHD, But Kinda

Something that is an odd but persistent artifact of ADHD is the ability to become wrapped up in a subject or set of subjects that are endlessly fascinating.  This is one of the reasons that many don't believe the idea of "inattention".  When we find the focus of our attention, it has ALL our attention.

I'm guilty.

I enjoy antiques, beadwork, sewing, jewelry making, painting, depression glass, quilting, porcelain dolls, and a few other oddities.  I'm obsessed by forensics, epidemiology, and virology.  Specifically, I am obsessed with filoviruses- Ebola, Marburg, and Lassa Fever.

Why?  Dunno.

I discovered virology in the 70's and proceeded to read every word available- and have continued to do so.  I met Ebola in the early 80's through meager published papers and added Marburg to my list, shortly followed by Lassa Fever.  I read every word I could find.

In 2014, I have continued to read every word I can find.  In the world of the Internet, I read everything online resources could provide, I bought every book i thought might be relevant- and even when I found myself reading epidemiological garbage, I scoured those pages for real science.  Sometimes I even found some.

Dr. William Close is my hero.  Just sayin'.  The world lost a real medical hero when he died.  

Today, I am finding that my odd "hobby" has a place.  This is nothing I ever expected.

So if you read my blog and find that you are confused by the screaming reports that seem to be fielded by everyone with an agenda that has nothing to do with Ebola and everything to do with scaring you, I might be able to help.

Can Ebola spread through air?  No.  For some years there was a theory that a nurse named Mayinga might have gotten the disease as she cared for a Belgian nursing Sister in Ngaliema.  The thepry was that young Mayinga had observed the requirements of barrier nursing.  The fact was that barrier nursing procedures were not in place at the time that Mayinga  cared for the Belgian Sister.  Dr. Margarethe Issacson- one of the first to respond to the outbreak, insured that barrier nursing would be in place.  

A novel by Tom Clancy theorized a "Mayinga Strain" of Ebola.  There was never any such thing.  A brilliant novel does not fact make.  PERIOD.

That guy in Texas infected EVERYBODY!!!  No.  As I write this, the family members- those who were closest to the acknowledged patient- have had no symptoms.  While we have to wait out the prodrome, Ebola moves faster, generally.

Surveillance is just that.  A group that we consider.  We watch and consider.  People who came in contact with that guy in Texas.  

Ebola has morphed and can spread through the air!!!  Umm.  No.  Near as I can tell that thinking is based in Richard Preston's telling of Reston Ebola outbreak in a monkey quarantine location in Reston.  While that virus was deadly to monkeys, it never spread to a single human.

Ebola is going to kill us all!!!  Not according to my Magic 8-Ball.  What CAN kill is a lack of information combined with a lack of trust.  

This is hard.  There are NO easy answers.  Many don't believe that the Government is giving us good info and really we want to know that we won't die bleeding from every orifice.  

Ebola is a "stuffy" virus.  It wants everything to be what it wants in order to invade a new host.

People tell me that docs and nurses who KNOW barrier nursing would NEVER allow a break.  Not true.  The most casual break can be the portal for a sub-microscopic virus. 

Crossing a barrier is too easy.  Touching oneself is a way of grounding- a way to "feel" centered.  Unfortunately, that can also mean that the barrier is broken.

Finally, ADHD does NOT cause Ebola.  But an ADHDer might help you understand it.