I'm not sure I am 100% ok with bringing Ebola into the USA like this. All it takes is one stupid mistake, one minor slip of a needle, and BOOM! - Vector control. No matter how well-trained/prepared/ rehearsed the people handling this individual are, including physicians, nurses, etc., accidents do happen. Even if Emory's clinical quality control were 10 Sigma, I would still question this. However, no hospital has ever achieved quality perfection in its procedures and processes...
If the person is a US citizen I understand why they are bringing them here (2 US Healthcare workers have contracted EBOLA that we know of so far), but the risks are still extremely high. Could this person be a family member of one of the individuals (who was in Africa until 10 days prior to the first patient's diagnosis and came back to the US)?? Citing experience with SARS and TB seems irrelevant - neither are the same as EBOLA, which oozes bodily fluids and virus out of every oriface. Additionally, viruses evolve - they adapt - the Flu virus is a perfect example of this, as is the AIDs virus. Who is to say EBOLA has not yet evolved the ability to transmit via air? And how do they know?
Lots of questions, but here are just a few to get you started thinking: Is the patient's room physically separated mechanically (HVAC, H2O, etc.) from the rest of the facility? Does the unit/room this person will occupy have a dedicated air supply like the ORs? How does food get into/out of the person's room? Where do bodily fluids get disposed - down the sewer into the municipal waste system? Or do they get comingled with Hazardous Medical waste? Who is the person transporting the Hazardous Medical Waste from this person's room to the medical waste disposal area? Does the hospital process its own Hazardous Medical Waste or do they have a service come and get it? If a service, then where do the bags/containers sit and for how long? How protected is the medical waste disposal area? Is there any chance of scavengers (mosquitos, mice, birds, other animals) getting into the bags? What is the tracability of the waste process once it leaves the hospital? I'm VERY familiar with this area because I've taught hospital systems how to deal with medical waste management in the safest and most cost effective manner possible.
Thoughts?
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