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Ebola and EMS Responses
Ebola: EMS Considerations
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been at the forefront of America's response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. When two medical workers returned to the United States with Ebola, weaknesses in the precautions hospitals had in place were revealed (CDC, 2015a). This event resulted in increased scrutiny concerning how well prepared first responders are should they be confronted by a patient suspected of having contracted the disease. Accordingly, the CDC has issued detailed guidelines for first responders.
According to the most recent press release from the CDC (2015b), it is difficult for anyone coming into contact with a symptomatic person suffering from Ebola to contract the disease unless they have direct contact with blood, urine, saliva, vomit, sweat, and diarrhea. Even then, unless the person is suffering from severe Ebola the chances of contracting the disease is reduced; however, emergency medical services (EMS) personnel coming into contact with someone suspected of suffering from Ebola need to take special precautions. What follows is a general overview of these precautions and how implementation should be accomplished at the local level. Should the Ebola outbreak ever achieve pandemic proportions in the United States,...
Identify requires public safety answering points (PSAPs) to question callers about residing in and travel to West Africa, or coming into contact with someone who recently returned from West Africa. PSAPs should also question callers about the symptoms being experienced by the patient, such as fever, headaches, vomiting, muscle pain, diarrhea, and hemorrhage. A positive response to these questions should trigger an already developed and implemented, coordinated plan, to isolate the patient under investigation (PUI) by first responders. Activation of this plan will depend on well-trained EMS personnel in Ebola response protocols, especially the correct use of personal protective equipment (PPE) appropriate for the role of each first responder. Crucially, PSAPs must notify first responders as soon as they have identified a PUI, thereby giving EMS personnel time to don the appropriate PPE before coming into contact with the PUI. Given the constraints that PPE often imposes on EMS personnel, some medical procedures will need to be adapted to PPE use as part of the Ebola response plan and training. Regular training in the application of these procedures while wearing PPE is therefore essential, as is demonstrable…
References
CDC. (2015a). 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/2014-west-africa/.
CDC. (2015b). Interim guidance for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) systems and 9-1-1 Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) for management of Patients Under Investigation (PUIs) for Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in the United States. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/healthcare-us/emergency-services/ems-systems.html.
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