The isolated incidents of three positive test for Ebola in Texas are not considered an outbreak by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), but cautionary steps have been taken in Missouri to further ensure an outbreak does not occur.
Both hospitals in Jefferson City - St. Mary's and Capital Region - have taken a proactive approach to adopting the necessary guidelines for handling any patients who present the symptoms of the virus.
"Our staff are trained and continue to receive regular updates to allow them to identify anyone who shows signs of the disease," wrote Becki Collier, marketing and communications consultant for SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital Jefferson City. "Should someone be identified as a suspected or confirmed case, we would be treating them in isolation rooms wearing personal protective equipment in accordance with CDC protocols."
SSM also has included an Ebola checklist in its electronic health record system, which reminds staff to be vigilant for possible causes as a part of an "abundance of caution," Collier wrote.
"We are evaluating and re-evaluating our protocol based on the CDC's recommendations to keep our employees and patients safe," wrote Lindsay Huhman of Capital Region Medical Center. "If we have a suspected case, we have the personal protection equipment on hand for personnel. A multidisciplinary team has developed an Ebola policy and plan which outlines steps and actions to take upon the first contact of a suspected Ebola patient."
Huhman is also helping the hospital disseminate a flyer from the CDC to help inform the public about the virus. The flyer states that Ebola is not spread through casual contact, air, water or food grown or legally purchased in the United States. Ebola can be spread through direct contact with bodily fluids of someone who is infected, objects contaminated with the virus and infected animals, according to the flyer.
It also states the virus can only be spread by an exposed individual who is showing symptoms, which are similar to flu symptoms, other than the unexpected bleeding and bruising. Also, if an exposed person does not develop symptoms after 21 days, he or she will not become sick with Ebola.
"Hospitals have been preparing for various emergencies for more than a decade and have equipment and systems in place to manage through an Ebola outbreak," Dave Dillion, Missouri Hospital Association (MHA) vice president of media relations, wrote in an email. "Sadly, while Missourians are thinking about Ebola, they should be focusing on getting an influenza vaccine. There's a much higher risk of mortality from the flu than contacting Ebola at this point."
Dillion added that 20 percent of Americans will suffer from the flu this season and an average of 200,000 are hospitalized for it each year. Also, the CDC estimated that between 1976 and 2007, flu-associated deaths went from a low of 3,000 in a season to a high of 49,000 in another. Dillion's advice to Missourians was to weigh the risk and get a flu vaccine.
The Cole County Health Department (CCHD) has distributed information about Ebola to first responders and hospitals in the county, CCHD director Kristi Campbell wrote in an email. Local public health agencies, such as the CCHD, investigate reports of disease to assure the ill person was properly treated to mitigate the spread of the disease.
"During a response, the Cole County Health Department would activate its Incident Command Structure dictated in our Emergency Operation Plan (EOP)," Campbell wrote. "This EOP is considered an all-hazards approach in terms of a response effort, meaning it includes all public health emergencies, including communicable diseases."
The EOP focuses on prevention and control of the disease, isolation and quarantine considerations and epidemiology. In case of an outbreak, the CCHD would also work with other emergency responders in the city and county, such as the Cole County Commission, city and county law enforcement, fire departments and emergency medical services.