The CDC Monday issues tightened guidelines on the personal protective equipment that should be worn by health care workers treating Ebola patients, including zero skin exposure, training in putting on and taking off gear and a trained monitor watching workers don and doff the equipment.
The guidelines come in the wake of the infections of two nurses who treated Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person diagnosed with Ebola in the U.S.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s updated guidelines and recommendations are:
• Personal protective equipment, including double gloves; respirators; single-useimpermeable gowns; boot covers; single-use face shields; surgical hoods that cover the head and neck; waterproof apron if patient has vomiting or diarrhea
• Extensive training of health care workers in how to put on and take off personal protective equipment, including step-by-step instructions and disinfection of gloves between each step
• A trained monitor present as workers are putting on and taking off equipment
Exactly how the two nurses at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital were infected is not clear, said CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden, according to The Associated Press.
“We may never know exactly how that happened, but the bottom line is, the guidelines didn’t work for that hospital,” Dr. Frieden said.
• Jennifer Pompi can be reached at jpompi@washingtontimes.com.
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