Having been in a profession which required the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), all the way up to Level "A", and having used that equipment, I'd like to throw in my $0.02.

Noted in the interview with the Belgian researcher who first identified and isolated what we now know as the Ebola virus, PPE is not universally utilized, even in societies (India for example) with advanced medical training.

Just as with Rule #1 in a gunfight is "Have a gun", there is a Rule #1 in haz-mat scenarios, including biologicals. That Rule #1 is "Have PPE"
Rule #2 is; "Have enough PPE". That implies the requirement to properly utilize the PPE, including donning and doffing it. One small mistake, be it caused by fatigue, apathy, inattention, or ignorance, can , and will cause failure.

It is not known if the Spanish nurse followed every PPE procedure every time, or how the transmission occurred, or even if the PPE she was using is good enough.

Every image I've seen in the media of medical and transport personnel in this country responding to the known or suspected Ebola virus has shown them to be in appropriate PPE. From what I've learned here from Miles, DocRocket, and others, Level C protection will prevent contamination, and that is what the folks have been wearing.

To think that, somehow this virus slipped past properly utilized PPE without human error, is delving into science fantasy, not science fact.

There are much greater everyday threats to our health and well being than this "disaster du jour".

Thanks, Miles, Doc, and others for helping me to better understand what threat this virus really is at this time.

Ed




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