Emory University Hospital in Atlanta is currently treating a patient infected with Ebola, the first time a hospital in the United States has done so. In response to the worst Ebola outbreak in history, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued updated guidelines for evaluation of U.S. patients suspected of having the Ebola Virus Disease.
EVD spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids like blood, urine, sweat, semen and breast milk. Patients can transmit the virus after showing symptoms and also postmortem.
According to the CDC guidelines, healthcare providers should evaluate patients for EVD if they have the following risk factors:
• Clinical criteria of a fever greater than 101.5 degrees Fahrenheit, severe headache, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, hemorrhage
• Epidemiologic risk factors like contact with an infected person, travel to an area where EVD is active or direct contact with bats, rodents or primates in an area where Ebola is endemic.
The CDC also issued recommended infection control measures for patients with known or suspected EVD. They include the following (see the full recommendations here):
• Patients should be placed in a single patient room, with a private bathroom, with the door closed
• Healthcare workers should wear gloves, gowns, shoe covers, eye protection and face masks
• Workers should avoid aerosol-generating procedures
• Environmental cleaning should be performed with the appropriate disinfectants, which include 10 percent sodium hypochlorite solution or hospital-grade quaternary ammonium or phenolic products
• Potentially contaminated materials like blood, sweat, emesis, feces and body secretions should be safely handled