This is the ‘Ebola Suit’ – It Keeps the Virus Away

Vunderkind

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We recently read of Sheik Umar Khan, the Sierra Leonean doctor who, despite wearing the standard protective gear somehow caught the virus.

He is dead now.

This chilled the bones of several health workers , especially those facing the likelihood of working with Ebola victims at some point in their noble careers.

The good news, however, is if you wear the right ‘suit’, you need not fear the virus.

The ‘Ebola Suit’

Crucial to understanding the extent of your safety from the virus is an understanding of just how fragile the virus is, outside of a host.

A medical adviser to ‘Doctors Without Borders’, Arman Sprecher says that wearing the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) helps protect you from the virus.

The PPE is impervious to fluid. It is a yellow suit made of woven plastic fibre. However, for it to protect you, it must be worn according to the proper standards.

It is only when worn inappropriately, Sprecher said, that the virus can contaminate. (Well, it’s either that or when you are taking off the suit)

She said “The presumed way you get sick is if the virus gets into a mucus membrane inside your mouth, nose or eyes. If you were very, very good about keeping your hands off your face, you could probably get away with more exposed skin above the neck. But we like to cover [health workers] from the neck up. So when the hand goes to the face in an unconscious movement, it doesn’t touch anything.”

“Let’s say you’re wearing some sort of material that covers you from the neck down — something that’s permeable — and somebody vomited on your sleeve and fluid got through and got on your arm. Honestly, you should be OK. It won’t get on you in a large volume. The vomit dries out, and the virus becomes inactive. Ebola doesn’t last very long on a clean, dry surface.”
 

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