The recent case in Spain of a healthcare worker contracting Ebola while caring for a patient demonstrated the risks healthcare workers take while trying to save the lives of others. Professor Peter Piot of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who first discovered Ebola in 1976, stated that the biggest risk of contracting Ebola in Europe is for medical staff.
The Wall Street Journal recently spoke to Professor David J. Evans, professor of virology at the University of Warwick and detailed the importance of following Ebola protocols
'The bulk of available evidence suggests that basic infection-control measures like protective gear that eliminate contact with the skin or fluids are sufficient to contain transmission.But a single lapse in procedure—removing successive layers of surgical gloves in the wrong order, for example— can expose a nurse or doctor to infection. It’s clear that something has gone wrong either in the direct exposure of the patient to an unprotected health-care worker or in the practices the health-care worker was using,' said David J. Evans, professor of virology at the University of Warwick in the U.K. on the Spanish case.
MEG Support Tools have developed the Ebola guidelines app specifically for healthcare workers to provide them with the latest World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines which are designed to keep them safe while treating patients with (suspected) Ebola.
Amongst other areas, it details what isolation techniques are required, how heathcare workers should don and remove Personal Protection Equipment and how contaminated waste should be managed. Being well versed on these protocols is critical as a single lapse can lead to contracting Ebola.
The app is available now on the Google Android store and will be released in a few days on the Apple app store.
Notes: Used with permission from The Wall Street Journal, WSJ.com. Copyright 2014 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All rights reserved.
