Wednesday, March 18, 2015

General And Personal Ebola Protection Measures

By Lena Stephenson


While the risks of Ebola transmission are low, it is necessary for health workers and families around infected patients to take precautions. The known ways of contracting the disease include direct and physical contact with body fluids like urine, blood, semen, feces and vomit, among others. Ebola protection measures also caution against contact with fluids of a dead victim.

A person who displays signs such as body aches, diarrhea, high fever and joint pains should seek immediate medical assistance. Hemorrhaging should also be reported at the earliest opportunity. Immediate action includes isolation and specific professional treatment with the aim of increasing the rate of survival.

Broken skin and mucus membranes have also been cited as some of the ways the disease is spread. Indirect contact through contaminated blood and body fluids also spread the disease. Contaminated equipment like gloves, goggles, masks and bed linen should be avoided. Male victims who have recovered should avoid sex since semen can transmit the disease up to seven weeks after treatment.

Workers in the health care industry must use adequate protective gear when handling patients and contaminated materials. They also must follow strict recommended measures by health institutions for prevention and control purposes. These measures include covering every part of the body with appropriate gear and following treatment procedures stipulated.

Health and support staff working with victims must be cautions of stigma, psychological distress violence as well as long working hours. There is the possibility of excessive heat that arises out of the personal protective gear. The gear also exposes you to dehydration. Handling loads and bodies within treatment facilities is likely to cause ergonomic problems.

The symptoms of Ebola are likely to be confused with such other diseases as typhoid fever, malaria, rickettsipsis, and cholera. Shigellosis, viral hemorrhagic fevers and relapsing hepatitis also exhibit similar signs. This means that care should only be provided in a hospital or heath facility with qualified doctors and necessary equipment.

When care is provided at home or in ill-equipped facilities the risk grows. This means that home care givers, traditional healers and village midwives who come into contact with infected individuals. Other avenues of contracting the disease include burial rituals and rites that involve direct contact with the body or bodily fluids.

Travelers to areas where the disease has been reported are exposed to a lower risk considering transmission modes. Only direct or indirect contact can cause transmission. Contact with dead animals that succumbed to the disease is a sure way to contract it.

Crew, workers and travelers should take appropriate measures to avoid contact or transmission. This happens at airports, ports or even on the ground when dealing with infected individuals. Exposure to a person who has manifested full blow symptoms on commercial flight or on other modes of transport should be reported to the transport company immediately.

Knowledge is vital in preventing and controlling this viral disease at any work place. All persons involved must understand its nature include transmission and spread. Rapid medical attention must be sort immediately signs of infection are displayed. Visitors returning from countries where this disease has been reported should monitor their condition for 21 days after arrival.




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