Working with Deadly Pathogens
Because Ebola is highly contagious, health care workers in the U.S. wear protective equipment (Personal Protective Equipment-PPE) to prevent transmission. Items worn include:
- Mask: Prevents infectious agents from getting into mucus membranes inside the mouth nose or eyes.
- Gloves: Keep broken skin from contact with infectious fluids r needle sticks. workers often wear two pairs in case one breaks.
- Full-body protective suit: Usually made of a fluid and air resistant, woven plastic fiber. Suit prevents exposure to body fluids, blood and infectious agents, but it must be removed properly.
- Boots: Thick, rubber boots that come up to the knees prevent exposure from blood or other body fluids that may spill.
With that said, there still are engineering controls that are in place to eliminate risk to health care workers.
