"Houston we have a problem" This just got very real

[Esme12]

And so it begins....

A health care worker who treated Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person in the U.S. diagnosed with Ebola who later died, has preliminarily tested positive for the deadly virus, the Texas Department of State Health Services said in a statement today.

The health care worker at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital has been isolated since reporting a low-grade fever Friday, the department said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will conduct further testing to confirm the diagnosis.

"We knew a second case could be a reality, and we've been preparing for this possibility," Dr. David Lakey, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services said in the statement. "We are broadening our team in Dallas and working with extreme diligence to prevent further spread."

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/texas-health-care-worker-tests-positive-ebola/story?id=26135108

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

Wow. HAZMAT? Evacuating the hospital? Isolating a patient in an ambulance instead of in the hospital?

Just screams "US hospitals are prepared to handle Ebola", doesn't it?

HArvard Vanguard is a clinic that runs an urgent care 10a to 9p....they are being transported to Beth Israel Deaconess hospital for evaluation and isolation rooms.

Yeah clearing the clinic...might have been overkill...but they don't want what happened in Texas happen here is what I heard.

[NurseJamie8]

All of this just makes me feel so uneasy. Our government has really dropped the ball.

[SoldierNurse22, BSN, RN]

HArvard Vanguard is a clinic that runs an urgent care 10a to 9p....they are being transported to Beth Israel Deaconess hospital for evaluation and isolation rooms.

Yeah clearing the clinic...might have been overkill...but they don't want what happened in Texas happen here is what I heard.

Ah, transport makes sense, then. HAZMAT and evacuation still isn't reassuring, though. It still leaves me with the unnerving taste in my mouth that whispers, "we're not ready". I mean, urgent care clinics are likely to see things like this. Was there no better plan than evacuation and HAZMAT in place? Eesh.

[diosa78]

My problem with the Ebola issue is that we are told to don contact/droplet PPE and place the patient in a negative pressure room. At least that is how it is where I work. So, we are talking about a level 4 biosafety hazard which is handled in a level 4 lab. According to wiki a Biohazard level 4 is handled as detailed below. How many of us work in a hospital that provides these types of safeguards?

• 
  
• Biohazard Level 4: Viruses and bacteria that cause severe to fatal disease in humans, and for which vaccines or other treatments are not available, such as Bolivianand Argentine hemorrhagic fevers, Marburg virus, Ebola virus, hantaviruses, Lassa fever virus, Crimean–Congo hemorrhagic fever, and other hemorrhagic diseases.Variola virus (smallpox) is an agent that is worked with at BSL-4 despite the existence of a vaccine. When dealing with biological hazards at this level the use of apositive pressure personnel suit, with a segregated air supply, is mandatory. The entrance and exit of a Level Four biolab will contain multiple showers, a vacuum room, an ultraviolet light room, autonomous detection system, and other safety precautions designed to destroy all traces of the biohazard. Multiple airlocks are employed and are electronically secured to prevent both doors opening at the same time. All air and water service going to and coming from a Biosafety Level 4 (P4) lab will undergo similar decontamination procedures to eliminate the possibility of an accidental release.
  

[RNSue]

SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT...

On a random non-medical news post someone brought up the fact that ebola is now in the sewer system in Dallas. The dog in Spain was put down because dogs can carry ebola without symptoms. What about rats, cats, opossums, etc.? Is the sewage "contained" in an "isolation" unit? I don't think so.

I was around when MRSA was new. All precautions were taken with. MRSA still managed to get to every part of the country.

The hospital in Dallas HAS to say there was a breach of protocol in order for the "nurse"(CNA, housekeeper, lab worker---they are all Nurses to the press and GP) to get ebola. That is for legal reasons and to lessen THEIR liability. I'll bet she gets fired.

So.. if it is the sewer system now is infected with ebola what about the hospital's liability for THAT?!

The situation is getting scarier and scarier.

[LongislandRN23]

This is very upsetting. The nurses do all of the work, get NONE of the credit, and get ALL of the blame and the infections. How many times as nurses have we seen doctors in and out of the patients room to assess them in less than 0.5 seconds!??! Things need to change and we need to be the voice/hand of change

[subee, MSN, CRNA]

I heard a story on NPR about a training center in Alabama for medical personnel who are headed for Liberia. They are trained to have another team member check the suit to make sure there are no open areas. Many of the team members did have areas of their suits that were not secured properly and these are experienced international responders. This virus is especially unforgiving. People who thought they were securely protected were not. Human error? We can only speculate.

[BeachsideRN, ASN]

New Orkeans had a hazmat situation at a hospital over the weekend. Turned out to be a false alarm ebola scare.

[lifelearningrn, BSN, RN]

I think paranoia is going to cause a lot of false alarm hazmat situations in the next few weeks. I honestly think I'm more concerned about the paranoia and distrust in the officials than I am about this disease becoming a deadly epidemic in the USA.

[dnnc52]

Its seems so far that the team at Emory and the transport team from the "Samaritan Purse" has not had any signs or sx of this disease. So I would say that they have the best protocol and we should be studying and evaluating their methods. No need to re-invent the wheel. If these folks worked with active infective pts and did not develop the disease then they must have it right!

[suzil]

I'm scared thinking of the doctors! I know you nurses know many a doctor that refuses to do the proper thing when working with an isolation patient. This is going to be a mess.

[suzil]

Notice how they automatically throw the blame at the nurse? This BS talk about the virus being hard to catch is nonsense. Viruses can mutate and it's transmission can change.