What is it about?
European data show that healthcare workers in high isolation units were equipped and trained to use needlestick-prevention devices in advance, to be ready to face patients carrying deadly pathogens safely. This should be a priority also in countries where these pathogens (such as Ebola) are endemic/epidemic.
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Why is it important?
Adopting a global safety standard would protect healthcare workers everywhere, and allow them to treat highly contagious patients at the best of their ability, without having to choose between their own safety and that of the patients they care.
Perspectives
My idea is that the value of healthcare workers safety should be the same everywhere, and international organizations working to treat and prevent the spread of viral haemorrhagic fevers in the worst affected areas should take care also of these aspects, providing safety-engineered devices as well as personal protective equipment along with education and training, especially during inter-epidemic periods to be ready in advance, should a new epidemic occur.
Dr Gabriella De Carli
National Institute for Infectious Diseases L. Spallanzani
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Adopting a Global Safety Standard for the Prevention of Ebola Needle-Stick Exposures, Infection Control, April 2015, Cambridge University Press,
DOI: 10.1017/ice.2015.62.
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