EBOLA: What are you doing to prepare?

[mitunnelrat]

I'm not privy to details on the suits my employer provides, i don't use them, but I was reminded of this thread when the following, random email reached me... Figured I'd pass the info along.

Employees, please read this important message from Procurement:
*
*
'Due to the current worldwide*Ebola crisis, Tyvek hazardous materials suits are now on national backorder with no release date. While Materials Management does have limited inventory, we must restrict the amount of suits issued at one time. Materials Management will now issue Tyvek suits by the EACH.*Tyvek suits were previously issued by the CASE of 25 each. This change is effective immediately. The Procurement*team is attempting to secure additional inventory as quickly as possible.
*
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.'

[Brownwater Riverrat 13]

Well I guess you better get your "each" there little brother before someone decides to take your size down at the supply depot. But nothing a little duct tape won't cure.

Now having said that I did find a great deal, they still have them as of this morning now only in large and XL. but the price is better than most. I received mine the other day and it came with chem gloves and n95 masks as well. All vacuum sealed, Damn nice of the fellow http://www.ebay.com/itm/330805831929

DUPONT TYCHEM F CHEMICAL PROTECTION SUIT w/BOOTS & HOOD

Tychem® F coveralls, are made of a proprietary barrier film laminated to a Tyvek® substrate. Strong, durable, and lightweight, it is a preferred choice for law enforcement, emergency medical services technicians, and military personnel. Tychem® F fabrics are tested by a third party laboratory to assess its chemical permeation resistance. DuPont has data for over 190 chemicals for Tychem® F in SafeSPEC™ 2.0 so that the user can select an appropriate garment.

Here's a link to fill in the blanks check out the PDF files (Data sheets) further down the page.

http://www.dupont.com/products-and-s.../tychem-f.html

- - - Updated - - -

Oh and to answer said topic uh yeah we're suited up I just need to put them into kits now, goggles will be in today. I think MCU2P's might be overkill but then again, WHAT'S THE SCENARIO?

[ElevenBravo]

Banking ammo... :-)

[Brownwater Riverrat 13]

Our fearless leader, SALUTE! HOO-YAH!

[ElevenBravo]

Clint Eastwood and John Wayne... they sure dont make them like they used to!!

[realist]

I have been meaning to write this for a while, but I’ve been busy. Ebola is the flavor of the month at this time, as my old teaching partner used to call it. There are several thousand cases in several African nations but relatively few here. Remember the Anthrax scare? Before the Anthrax incident the US was experiencing about one suspicious powder related to some biological agent a month. Then after the attack just our county alone we experienced about 250 incidents a month and this went on for about eight month. So much money was pissed away on idiots. People were sure the white powder next to their coffee pot in the break room was someone spreading around Anthrax. Well looking at Ebola from a third party standpoint, it appears were are doing the same thing all over again. I attended some training recently which was very enlightening to say the least. It was four hours of the incident command system as it relates to medical personnel and then it was supposed be a table top exercise on Anthrax. Well since Ebola was the topic of the month we went on to it instead. First I would like to say this was not some whitewashed explanation. Everyone for the most part was in the health care profession. One of the main speakers, was a doctor who I would trust my wife’s life to, because he pretty much saved her last year (that is a whole another story). There were no tin hats on I could see in the room, although when I had to use the restroom there was one guy who was having a hard time getting out of the bathroom without touching the door handle.

We went over just how to get it. Most people know it come is contracted by coming into bodily fluids of a person who is infected. Because of the third world environment Ebola has been spreading more and more. There is a huge number of health care workers over in Africa who have died treating these patients. They are trying their best but when you do not have any breaks everyone is tired and the do make mistakes. One issue is the dead bodies which according to some local customs the relatives handle them to prepare for burial, which I do not see a problem in our county, we now have protocols in place for their disposal. The other way is to come in contact with the person’s bodily fluids during treatment or by accident. Ebola is a hemorrhagic fever which causes the person to bleed out of their orifices, this along with vomiting and diarrhea is where the body fluids come. It is for that reason most health professionals have said you need to keep at least a 3 foot distance from anyone suspected of carrying the disease.

One important thing brought up was Ebola is really a fragile disease. When it is in fluid you can get it but the disease dies when it dries out. Part of the problem in Africa is health care professionals are treating the patients as fast as they can and have no time to study the disease. Over here things are moving along. For instance in one of the facilities which treated one of the patients then could not find any active virus on the toilet seat or the floor even through the patient had vomited and had severe diarrhea. This is a good sign but I have seen little put out to the public. Coughing and being vomited on can get you contaminated. However this is not always the case. If the virus was as contagious as everyone in the press would have you think everyone in Africa would have contracted it now. Even when handling dead bodies family member don’t always catch the disease.

Should you be concerned of people coming from Africa carrying the disease? Sure but not to the point of getting hysterical. The doctor leading the talk told us of one of his colleagues getting a call from one of his patients being worried about catching the disease. He said he had recently flew in a plane over Dallas and was concerned……………….stupid. I know my wife says stupid is a bad word, but stupid is as stupid does.

The cost of taking care of those people brought into this country was approximately $500,000. Here on the left coast all the University of California hospitals have been designated are treatment facilities. It is expensive to treat the disease. Because it is the flavor of the month everyone is throwing ungodly amounts of money at it. Whoever makes a vaccine or cure for it will hit the jackpot. I want to say the president wanted to throw $6.9 Billion at it………….WTF?

Okay so there is always a silver lining or as one infamous person said, “Never let a good crisis go to waste”. Everyone is getting up to speed on contamination avoidance. Procedures are being changed on a weekly basis to protect those health professionals in the field which in turn will protect us. Like a lot of you, it has got me off my ass and I added to my medical supplies a large amount of infection control supplies.

So what do I see long term? Well we have our military over their assisting in building treatment facilities, or so I am told. Other countries are now getting more involved in making sure they are controlling people coming from those countries which are affected. If this virus is not contained then it is estimated over a 100,000 people could contract the disease within the year. The big problem with this is the potential for it to morph into something else. For the time being I think we are good. I do plan on being more involved in a couple of groups in this health care field which I have made contacts. If I come across more information I will pass it along.

One last thing get a flu shot. Some of the symptoms of Ebola are flu like. So there are a lot of people who get the flu this year just know they have Ebola. I do hope is when there is a flu pandemic those who have been vaccinated might have a better chance, but we won’t know until then………..

[Brownwater Riverrat 13]

Only time will tell I reckon.