Infectious Diseases
The Infectious diseases topic features the latest news, guidelines, education, EMS training and tips related to infection control and EMS role in prevention the transmission of and caring for patients with infectious diseases.
News and expert analysis to help alleviate the top pandemic-related stressors
When working from home isn’t an option: download a checklist for reducing the risk of transmitting exposure after returning from a shift
What the ILCOR recommendations for managing infection risks during CPR and intubation of patients who may be infected with SARS-CoV-2 mean for EMS
The guidelines highlight key areas to enhance overall preparation and response to potential or diagnosed Ebola patients
Health officials said they are still monitoring about 50 people who may have had contact with the patient for signs of the deadly disease
Efforts are focused on identifying high-risk individuals before they leave the outbreak zone
Although he a told nurse he had been in West Africa, it was not communicated to the medical team
“This vehicle isn’t going to solve the problem, but it’ll help,” said the former owner. “If it can move several hundred people, I think that’s a plus.”
Health officials are closely monitoring a possible second Ebola patient who had close contact with the first person to be diagnosed in the U.S.
The responders and the ambulance were isolated after the transport; they’ve been sent home but will be monitored for 21 days
Enterovirus 68, which causes polio-like symptoms, was detected in four out of eight of the sick children; health officials are seeking more information after reports of the virus in 277 people in 40 states
The patient is in isolation at a Dallas hospital; he experienced symptoms four or five days after leaving Liberia on Sept. 19
He was put on a ventilator for 13 days in January and is still recovering nine months later; once skeptical, he says he will not go without a flu shot again
Researchers are monitoring for mutations in the virus, which has killed at least 2,400 people
The employee recently diagnosed with the illness may have exposed the infants and about 40 other hospital employees
Obama ordered 3,000 military personnel to West Africa to help erec new treatment and isolation facilities, train health care workers and increase communications and transportation support
The virus can cause mild to severe illness, with the worst cases needing life support for breathing difficulties
Capt. Ian Buckley spent 8 days in the ICU, had 4 surgeries and was released with a vacuum pack sealed tightly around his leg to keep the wound clean
He has also has been given an experimental drug that doctors refuse to identify, and has responded well to aggressive treatments
Those sick have been using motorcycle taxis and other public transport to get to hospitals, increasing the risk of spreading the desease
With 900 admitted in Denver and 500 in Kansas City, the illness has swept across 10 states leaving doctors questioning the cause of the outbreak
A medical team is discussing experimental treatments, including using blood serum from a patient who has recovered from Ebola
The doctor who was delivering babies in Liberia is now in Omaha’s special isolation unit; the experimental drug ZMapp is exhausted and a medical team is exploring other treatments
After the two others fell ill, the Boston-area doctor returned to Liberia where he is in isolation; it’s unknown if he will be transported to the U.S. for treatment
The former DHS chief medical officer/assistant secretary for health affairs looks at emerging health threats and what a severe pandemic might mean to national security
Here is what EMS agencies need to know to maintain training requirements and compliance with the OSHA bloodborne pathogens standard
Planning, personal protective equipment and routine vaccinations helps maintain infection control
He will be treated at London’s Royal Free Hospital, which has an isolation unit for infectious disease
They were discharged after three weeks and doctors say their release poses no public health risk
The patient has been isolated and the CDC will test a blood sample to see if the person, who may have been exposed, actually has the virus
Although the risk to the U.S. is small, EMS providers should be educated on how to identify symptoms and treat Ebola patients
Although the drugs have been approved for use in West Africa, it would be months before more of the experimental treatment is available
Grady EMS’s special operations team had been ready for this type of transport for years; here’s how it all came together
