The CDC & WHO are now recommending Hibiclens for deconning gloves and skin.

As far as I know, pre & post surgery cleaning should be done with Dial Antibacterial Liquid Soap, as always.

My surgeon instructed me to use hibiclens before my shoulder surgery.

I came back from Eastern Europe just a few days ago. I had no worries where I was. But International airlines and airports scared me. Anyone can be, and usually is, from anyplace in the world, and within a few hours. I met a couple from Eastern Africa in a less traveled Eastern European Airport lounge. Not what I would have expected. Then there was the mass of people at JFK Airport Customs and Immigration, all lined up in one huge room waiting to get into the US. Anything airborne and we all can and will take it with us, wherever we go.

IMHO, the genie is out of the bottle.

Hibiclens contains the biocide chlorhexidine. Great for killing off most pathogens, even enveloped viruses such as EBOV.


Came across this paper on the estimated reproduction rate of the current outbreak, which shows 1.52 for Guinea, 2.42 for Sierra Leone and 1.65 for Liberia: http://arxiv.org/abs/1408.3505 So yeah, numbers like this are quite serious, especially given the low level of available medical help and protective gear.

Also an interview with photojournalist John Moore on the situation in Liberia: http://lightbox.time.com/2014/08/19/ebola-outbreak-liberia-john-moore-photographs/#1

On the bright side, there might be a better chance of containment now in Lagos, even though I just heard that another doctor who treated their "patient zero" has not recovered as was reported earlier, but passed away from the disease.


--M

DW works at the local hospital here, and just thought you might be interested what precautions they are taking in light of the outbreak.

Universal precautions have, of course, been in place for many years, but in addition to those, the hospital has been conducting training sessions, per CDC recommendations, to all employees regarding what symptoms a patient infected with the virus may present with, and what additional precautions need to be taken if a patient presents with said symptoms, including:

- reduce exposure time to patient
- disposable gown, shoe and leg coverings (i.e. so that they can be easily and properly disposed of after contact with the patient)
- full face shield (additional protection from any bodily fluids such as projectile vomit or spurting blood)
- double gloves (although gloves are part of universal precautions and would already be worn by nurses and other personnel coming in direct contact with said patient, gloves are something that ALL other support employees such as social workers, supervisors and janitorial staff would also be required to wear)
- all equipment used for the patient is dedicated and not to be used elsewhere
- limited use of sharps and other aerosol treatments (such as breathing treatments)

I'm sure this is just scratching the surface of other precautions they may be taking, such as any emergency planning in case of a widespread area outbreak with multiple cases, or planning for isolation units in case of said outbreak.

If i find out about any additional precautions they are taking I'll be sure to let you know.

Good to know all that's in place, Mark. Thanks for sharing.

The thought hadn't occurred to me until I just read a news article, but as the new school year starts up, colleges and universities have had to think about how to deal with the sudden influx of foreign students from Ebola-impacted countries.

Mostly the preparations seem to involve familiarizing campus health staff with the symptoms of Ebola and having emergency plans in place. A number of schools are implementing temperature checks of arriving students from affected countries to check for fever.

Interesting but chilling read from Newsweek. I was just in NYC, too.

Smuggled Bushmeat Is Ebola's Back Door to America

Hibiclens' active ingredient, chlorhexidine gluconate 4% solution is available in generic form, at a savings... no affiliation

Over the weekend, the CDC has posted an official reminder to health care administrators to review their procedures in case a suspected Ebola case comes into their facility. It's very matter-of-fact, like reminding people to make sure their earthquake preparations are in place. But just the fact that they're officially notifying people does seem to indicate the level of concern is rising beyond merely thinking of Ebola as an "African" concern way over on the other side of the planet.