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An issue that has caused considerable confusion and fear during the Ebola outbreak is the difference between airborne, aerosol and droplet transmission. There are clear differences, but they werent elucidated particularly well at the onset of Ebola cases in the U.S., leaving the public uninformed and then panicked when some reputable scientists warned that there was a small chance the Ebola virus could mutate and spread like a truly airborne pathogen such as measles.
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After the index case of Ebola in the U.S. died and two nurses who treated him in a Dallas hospital became infected, there was an outbreak of irrationality that spread as rapidly as any epidemic.
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A U.S. Ebola outbreak characterized more by fear than science marked by distrust, rumor and false assumptions may yet yield something positive: A rededication to basic infection control practices in the nations hospitals and increased support for infection prevention programs and public health.
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While it has been duly noted that many hospitals lack the surge capacity and training to deal with an Ebola patient, the public health system is also ill prepared for emerging infectious disease outbreaks and pandemics, an expert in the field warns.
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While infection preventionists in the nations hospitals are diverting time and resources to Ebola preparedness there is a real risk that a host of other infections from Clostridium difficile to MRSA will increase and claim many more American lives than the highly publicized virus out of West Africa.
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With sincere apologies to the ghost of Winston Churchill, never in the field of infection prevention was so much purchased by so many to be worn by so few.
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In a legal challenge that could set a precedent for flu shot mandates, the Massachusetts Nurses Association has filed suit challenging a proposed mandatory flu vaccination policy at Brigham & Womens Hospital in Boston. Under the policy, workers can forego the flu shot for medical or religious reasons, but otherwise could be subjected to discipline that could include job termination, the union charges in the suit.
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As news shows broadcast seemingly endless loops about Ebola, every community in America wanted to know: Is my local hospital ready to safely handle an Ebola patient?
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Faced with fear and brewing rebellion in the health carecommunity, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has dropped its stance that any U.S. hospital can take care of an Ebola patient in favor of rapid response teams.
