New procedures for SARS and Influenza A?

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho.

Has anyone's hospitals instituted new procedures for screening on admission for SARS and "bird flu" Influenza A? I know the CDC is implementing new procedures since there have been a couple suspect cases in Texas or the southwest somewhere. Are you facilities screening at the ER/OP, or waiting until they get to the floors and expecting your staff nurses to do the paperwork? Just wondered.

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as far as I know, we don't have a policy. Maybe that's because I'm in the NICU at this time. :chuckle:

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Over here in Thailand, home of the "Bird Flu", all screening is initially done with thermometers for SARS. Anyone at the airport arriving was automatically checked by nurses, no matter whaere they were arriving from. If from a particular area that had outbreaks, they were checked directly at the airport by a nurse and physician.

For Avian Flu, the only spread to humans (so far) has been only people that raise chickens or worked on a chicken farm. Most of our deaths have been children, and the kids were living up country. Bangkok has extremely modern medical facilities, but as soon as you leave this province, medicine is another world in most places. Amd most of the farms are out of this area.

One thing that is quite puzzling. Quarantine measures are supposed to exist for 90 days in an infected area per WHO, etc., yet they are going to start

"reseeding" with baby chicks as soon as some of the areas have been sprayed down two more times. Guess I won't be eating any chicken for a long time.

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Yep. Every hospital in Ontario is still doing the sars type screening on admission, as well as MRSA/VRE.

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