- Published: January 13, 2022
- Updated: January 13, 2022
- University / College: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
- Language: English
- Downloads: 22
The Policy Best in Reducing Ebola Outbreaks among Healthcare Workers
The number of Ebola cases has currently been a worldwide concern owing to the fact that the virus spreads without doubt from one individual to the other through body contact. The number of new cases especially in West Africa has constantly been rising, health workers being included. In their attempt to save the lives of Ebola patients, health workers have contracted the deadly disease and some even succumb to death. New infections amongst health workers can be prevented even as they assist those ailing from the disease. This essay is thus an explanation of the policy that would be best in reducing the risk of Ebola outbreaks among health care workers.
Given that the Ebola virus spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids, the best policy for reducing Ebola outbreak among health workers is ensuring the use of protective clothes and disinfectants in the strategic centers for treating Ebola patients. Firstly, it ought to be guaranteed that healthcare workers use masks while handling Ebola patients. Masks would help prevent the virus from spreading to the healthcare practitioners even when the patients cough. A cough from an infected patient is enough to spread the virus to the healthcare practitioner around.
The healthcare workers should ensure that their limbs are well covered to avoid getting into contact with the patient’s skin. To avoid the direct body contact, the healthcare workers should put on gloves and gumboots while handling the persons infected with the virus. According to a research done at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, the virus is present on a patient’s skin after symptoms develop, emphasizing hoe contagious the disease is when symptoms appear.(Ashkenas et al., 2014)
Ensuring that the areas where the healthcare workers access are disinfected would also reduce the number of new infections among the healthcare practitioners. The surfaces that the patients come in contact with should be sprayed immediately the room is left vacant. A newspaper report shows that the virus can survive for a few hours on dry surfaces such as doorknobs and countertops. Disinfecting such surfaces with bleach solutions would ensure that the virus does not spread to healthcare providers.
As stated earlier in the essay, creating treatment centers where the healthcare workers with protective clothing would treat the patients would help in ensuring that the virus does not spread to healthcare workers when they are treating patients on fields. Given that it is easy to minimize the spread of the virus in confined places, it would be safer for healthcare workers to remain confined even as they treat the people infected with the virus.
Officials of the World Health Organization are coordinating the construction and staffing of treatment centers across West Africa. This is in an attempt to stop the spread of Ebola to healthcare workers and to enhance the possibilities of the patients surviving. In the struggle to create health centers for treatment, the governments should come in and offer possible assistance like improving infrastructure in the affected areas. (Ashkenas et al., 2014)
In conclusion, there has been an increase in the number of healthcare workers who have been infected with Ebola during the latest outbreak. The high rates of infection and deaths could be attributed to improper use of protective clothing among healthcare workers. Implementation of the policy that would ensure proper use of protective equipment and disinfectants would help curb the high risks of Ebola outbreak among healthcare workers.