Hospital Personnel Wore Inadequate Protective Gear
A health worker at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital got infected with Ebola.
The worker was one of the personnel who took care of Ebola “patient zero” Thomas Duncan.
According to reports, the health worker was wearing protective gear while treating the Duncan.
Protective Gears Are Inadequate
There have been reports in since the early days of this outbreak that CDC protective gear recommendations are not enough to protect health workers from Ebola virus. Ebola is a level-4 biohazard virus that has no known treatment.
This latest infection in the United States is the second case of high-profile Ebola transmission on health workers in developed countries with CDC-recommended protective hear. The first one was when a nurse in Spain was infected by the virus, during the early days of the outbreak.
See Also:
First U.S. Ebola Patient Thomas Eric Duncan Died
These facts only means that the protective gears health workers are wearing are not enough to protect them from the deadly virus.
Many experts recommend using at least full face respirators along with positive-pressure “space suits.” Virologists in the U.S. Army wear these protective gears when they deal with level-4 biohazards, especially Ebola.
Level-4 biohazard positive-pressure suits look goofy and puffy because it has air source in it that gives it higher pressure than the room.
CDC Points Fingers on Victim
Jumping to conclusion without conducting investigation, CDC director Tom Frieden said that there was a breach in protocol among the health workers which resulted to the infection.
According to reports, the health worker was wearing full protective gear while tending to Duncan. Instead of CDC admitting that their protective gear recommendation is inadequate, they pointed their fingers on the victim.
Health Officials Don’t Have Everything ‘Under Control’
Unlike what the White House is reporting about the Ebola outbreak, the incident in Dallas shows that the U.S. government does not have everything under control.
Friedan’s statement further confirms the fact that the U.S. government does not have the outbreak in control. He said to expect more Ebola cases in Dallas in the coming days.
There are reports that Ebola is hard to catch, that it can’t easily infect people. But even with the full protective gear, the trained health worker in Dallas was still infected by the deadly virus. Also, at the other side of the world, thousands of people in West Africa have been diagnosed with Ebola and the numbers increase significantly every month.
This news about a health worker in Dallas being infected with Ebola, only means that the virus is easy to catch. It also proves that the deadly disease could get in the United States, despite all the advancements in the medical industry of this highly developed country.
The Ebola outbreak for this generation is a different strain than the outbreak in Zaire, in 1976. It could a totally different kind of Ebola people are facing today. It may be capable for things that it was believed otherwise in the past.
Ebola can spread regardless of the expensive health care a nation has.
References:
- http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2789825/Texas-health-care-worker-tests-positive-Ebola.html
- http://www.naturalnews.com/047226_Ebola_outbreak_Dallas_health_care_worker.html
- http://www.dallasnews.com/news/local-news/20141009-patient-zero-believed-to-be-sole-source-of-ebola-outbreak.ece
