See that’s the thing...I don’t know much about bio-hazards but from what I’ve heard this is a level-4 contaminant in which requires special coverings and decontamination procedures. Remember in the movie Outbreak where they’d go into those special showers with bleach. Are the nurses utilizing these showers? Do all have them? What are these health workers wearing? You need more than just gowns, gloves, and dust mask.
You mean like a shower in carbolic acid or something like that? How about gaseous formaldehyde or chlorine? Water won’t work.
This is the level of protection that should be taken.
Is the average hospital setup to provide this? NO! Most ICUs have a negative pressure room with a small anteroom where you can wash your hands and gown up. They are not set up to do a full Hazmat decontamination.
These patients should be cared for in mobile prefab trailers where Hazmat decontamination can be set up. Most Hospitals are not designed to provide this level of care.
The other problem with this disease is that it engages the most well trained personnel in the hospital, the ICU staff. It takes 2 - 3 years to train an ICU doctor if you continually expose this talent to a highly communicable disease how long do they last? Who in their right mind would take on the extra years of training to take their place?
Ebola will likely be contained in the US, however there is the small possibility that it does get out of control. Because of that small possibility every precaution should be taken. Which means revoking issued visas for anyone in west Africa. Intercepting any West African traveler that does arrive here and placing them in immediate quarantine and after quarantine return to their country of origin. Set up Ebola treatment centers where patients are sent to keep them out of our main Hospitals.
Personnel that are treating an Ebola patient are required to live onsite until such time they have passed quarantine limits before they are allowed to return to the general public.