Ebola: US issues new treatment protocols

WHO’s committee on Ebola will meet Wednesday to review the scope of the outbreak and whether additional measures are needed

Dallas/ Washington/ Pari s, Oct. 21: The United States issued stringent new protocols on Monday for health workers treating Ebola victims, directing medical teams to wear protective gear that leaves no skin or hair exposed to prevent medical workers from becoming infected, as another US patient recovered from Ebola and was discharged from hospital.

The new guidelines from the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta come as 43 people who were exposed to the first patient diagnosed in the United States were declared risk- free, easing a national sense of crisis that took hold after two Texas nurses who treat- ed him contracted the disease.

Under new protocols, Ebola healthcare workers also must undergo special training and demonstrate competency in using protective equipment. Use of the gear, now including coveralls, and single- use, disposable hoods, must be overseen by a supervisor to ensure proper procedures are followed when caring for patients with Ebola, which is transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids but is not airborne.

Meanwhile, a new device similar to a simple pregnancy home- test could allow doctors to diagnose a patient with suspected Ebola in under 15 minutes, its French developers said Tuesday.

Trials at a high- security lab have validated the technique and prototype kits should be available in Ebola- hit countries by the end of October for a clinical trial, France’s Atomic Energy Commission said. The diagnostic tool works by monoclonal antibodies reacting to the presence of virus in a tiny sample, which can be a drop of blood, plasma or urine, it said. — Reuters, AFP