"Gown, gloves, mask, and eye shield" is Level 2."
It's an interesting statement and it makes sense, EXCEPT it is INCORRECT.
The CDC website specifically addressing ebola does NOT say what you claim they did.
CDC: Ebola Virus Disease: Personal Protective Equipment (PPE):
•All persons entering the patient room should wear at least: ◦Gloves
◦Gown (fluid resistant or impermeable)
◦Eye protection (goggles or face shield)
◦Facemask
Exactly. Maybe CDC needs to come out and take responsibility for the “breach”. It was the hospital following CDC guidelines that likely allowed the nurse to be infected.
I’m assuming they have these guidelines as the most cost-effective for outside the US. Maybe they don’t want to have another guideline for the US because it wouldn’t be PC.
That’s his point - Apparently CDC guidelines for health care personnel recommend less protective gear than internal CDC guidelines for handling the Ebola virus in a lab setting. Which doesn’t make sense, since there is lower risk of accidental contamination in a lab environment where the virus is basically contained to test tubes and vials.
CDC says different things about what the appropriate level is, depending on whether it's a lab or clinical setting.
In their Safe Specimen Management page, they say:
What I'm saying, is that these CDC guidelines seem to be bad protocols, considering that the Spanish nurse got infected while working at Level 2, and now the Dallas nurse got infected while at Level 2.Why does CDC work with Ebola virus in a Biosafety Level 4 laboratory facility and recommends that clinical laboratories work in a Biosafety Level 2 laboratory facility?
The activities conducted in the BSL-4 laboratory (BSL-4) on Ebola virus are different from activities that would be conducted in a U.S. clinical laboratory. CDC BSL-4 laboratorians grow large volumes of virus stocks and use them for a variety of scientific purposes such as testing possible vaccines and antiviral therapeutics. Proper containment of these large volume virus stocks is critical to the safety of laboratory personnel.CDC’s recommendations to U.S. clinical laboratories for safe management of diagnostic specimens from PUI for EVD are consistent with recommendations for other known infectious diseases that are transmitted through blood or body fluids, such as HIV and hepatitis viruses. If clinical laboratories are following CDC recommendations and the OSHA bloodborne pathogens standard, they can safely manage specimens from PUI for EVD.
Additionally, CDC and international partners are able to safely manage clinical specimens of patients with known EVD in field laboratories in remote locations without modern facilities or infrastructure such as electricity, running water, or sanitation. These field laboratories are not BSL-4 facilities.
While Level 4 may not be possible, due to lack of facilities, Level 3 should definitely be prescribed.