Teche Regional Medical Center prepared for Ebola

Since The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed, through laboratory tests, that the first case of Ebola to be diagnosed in the United States had traveled to Dallas from Liberia, Teche Regional Medical Center wanted to ensure the community that it is making necessary precautions and is prepared in case this virus was to present itself in our hospital or community, a news release from the hospital stated.
Pam Aud, R.N. and director of quality at Teche Regional Medical Center, said, “It is important to the community to know that Ebola is not spread through casual contact or through the air. Ebola is spread through direct contact with bodily fluids of a sick person or exposure to objects such as needles that have been contaminated. The illness has an average 8 to 10 day incubation period (although it ranges from 2 to 21 days); CDC recommends monitoring exposed people for symptoms a complete 21 days. People are not contagious after exposure unless they develop symptoms.”
Early recognition is critical for infection control. Health care providers at Teche Regional Medical Center are alert for and evaluate any patients suspected of having Ebola Virus Disease. The clinical criteria, which includes fever of greater than 38.6 degrees Celsius or 101.5 degrees Fahrenheit, and additional symptoms such as severe headache, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, or unexplained hemorrhage; and epidemiologic risk factors within the past 21 days before the onset of symptoms, such as contact with blood or other body fluids or human remains of a patient known to have or suspected to have EVD; residence in or travel to an area where EVD transmission is active; or direct handling of bats or non-human primates from disease-endemic areas.
“Ebola is a virus, easy to kill by washing hands and easy to stop by wearing barrier precautions. There is no risk from someone who has recovered from Ebola, or those who were exposed but are not yet sick,” added Aud.