"We are prepared, capable, and composed to address the Ebola threat and deliver rapid response."
Army Medical Command (MEDCOM) staff and Army Medical Treatment Facility (MTF) personnel are trained, equipped, and prepared to ensure Service Members, Families, Civilians, Contractors, and community stakeholders are informed, engaged, and ready to respond to a potential Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) patient arriving at any one of our treatment facilities.
There have been three confirmed diagnosed cases of Ebola in the U.S. Two Dallas-based nurses contracted the disease following their exposure to an Ebola patient in their direct care. Most recently, The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene reported a case of Ebola in a medical aid worker who had returned to New York City from Guinea, where the medical aid worker had served with Doctors Without Borders.
The Ebola virus was first spread to the human population by direct contact with infected animals. It then spread from person to person by direct contact with blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids (such as sweat, vomit, and diarrhea) of infected people. Only people who have symptoms of Ebola, or have recently died from Ebola, can transmit the virus to others, and the risk of spreading the infection to others increases as the disease progresses.
Objects or surfaces contaminated with an EVD patient's blood or other body fluids are also possible sources of infection. Ebola is not spread through the air like a common cold or by casual contact (like sitting next to someone or having a conversation). Ebola is not spread through drinking water, eating cooked food, or being bitten by insects like mosquitoes or ticks. Just being in a country where people are ill with EVD is not dangerous. One can avoid being exposed to Ebola virus by understanding how it is spread and by taking basic preventive measures.
People infected with Ebola can only spread the virus to others after theybecome ill.
The Army's Investment to Protect You and Your Family
The U.S. military response to Ebola is a Total Force effort involving the Department of Defense, Defense Health Agency, Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine personnel and healthcare providers. All healthcare providers working in MEDCOM treatment facilities have received new training protocols ensuring continuation of daily operations while practicing aggressive, rigorous, and consistent methods to screen, identify, isolate, and treat a potential patient from arrival to admission and ensuing care.
Family members seeking care at civilian hospitals will also benefit from enhanced training and guidelines for military responders to ensure a safe healthcare environment while providing effective treatment and care for potential Ebola patients. The Department of Defense's activation of a 30-personnel Ebola rapid response medical team, led by U.S. Northern Command, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, is now in place to bolster civilian hospital efforts to combat domestic cases of Ebola. The personnel for the joint team will include 20 critical care nurses, five doctors trained in infectious disease, and five trainers in infectious disease protocols and personal protective equipment (PPE). The group will receive specialized training from the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) who has played a significant role in assisting the Ebola virus outbreak response in West Africa.
Your role in stopping the spread of Ebola
Your role in stopping the spread of Ebola is to work with our healthcare community to cross-communicate fact-based information and promote healthy behaviors gained from knowledge, experience, and lessons learned of survivors, caregivers, and providers who have successfully contained and eradicated Ebola since it first appeared nearly 40 years ago in 1976. We know that Ebola is preventable.
EVD is an illness that can start two to 21 days after becoming infected with the virus, but typically illness begins in 8-10 days. The most common symptoms of EVD are fever, tiredness, loss of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, and stomach pain. Rash, red eyes and the bleeding some people think of when they hear about Ebola are not commonly seen. The most common signs and symptoms of EVD are not unique to this infection, and they are the same as more common diseases found in Africa, such as malaria or influenza. Even "food poisoning" or a heat injury can also cause these same symptoms.
Caregivers, healthcare providers, and members of the Total Force can avoid being exposed by following good personal hygiene practices and using appropriate protective equipment when they may have contact with ill patients.
The Army is Ensuring Your Soldier is Trained and Protected
At this time no U.S. military personnel will be providing medical care directly to patients with Ebola and are at low risk of becoming infected with Ebola. Soldiers deploying to the affected countries are provided specialized training on Ebola and how to protect themselves. They will understand how to avoid being exposed, how to use personal protective equipment if they end up in areas close to Ebola patients, how to decontaminate themselves and their equipment if a potential exposure occurred, how to recognize signs and symptoms of illness, and how to access medical care if needed. The jobs our Soldiers are doing are not those which are expected to put them at high risk of being exposed to Ebola, but they will be ready to protect themselves if an unexpected situation occurs.
In the affected countries such as in Africa and the U.S., Ebola has spread to family members or other care providers who were not taking proper precautions to prevent direct contact with the blood or body fluids of the ill person. Ebola has not spread through casual contact with other people during normal activities, such as eating in restaurants or shopping in markets. You cannot get Ebola from drinking water, eating cooked food, or being bitten by insects like mosquitoes or ticks.
The Army is Working to Protect Healthcare Providers
An important step is new guidance received for wearing personal protective equipment to be used by healthcare workers. The procedures provide detailed guidance on the types of personal protective equipment (PPE) to be used and on the processes for donning and doffing (i.e., putting on and removing) PPE for all healthcare workers entering the room of a patient hospitalized with Ebola virus disease (Ebola).
Healthcare workers, laboratory personnel, and family members of an EVD patient are at the highest risk for exposure because they are most likely to be in close contact with very sick EVD patients. Individuals who have close personal contact with EVD patients such as family members or medical workers not wearing proper personal protective equipment are at greatest risk of contracting EVD. Practicing standard infection control precautions, including hand washing and wearing appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) prevent exposure.
Your Local MTF is part of a Global Coalition for Ebola Response and Preparedness
The MEDCOM Emergency Management department is fully integrated and coordinated with national healthcare coalitions and emergency first responders to detect, protect, and respond to Ebola. National and locally integrated healthcare coalitions are in place to support member efforts to review infection control policies and procedures, and suggest that their members incorporate plans for administrative, environmental, and communication measures. Healthcare coalitions are in place to also help define work practices that will be required to detect persons possibly infected with Ebola or other infectious germs; prevent spread throughout the community; and manage the impact on patients, healthcare facilities, and staff.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), in addition to other federal, state, and local members, aim to increase understanding of the Ebola virus disease (EVD) and encourage community-level preparedness for U.S. Healthcare Coalitions and their members in managing patients with Ebola and other infectious diseases. New CDC Guidance for Ebola PPE Calls for "No Skin in the Game," stressing the importance of adhering to detailed guidance on PPE processes.
What are the next steps for You and Your Family
Continue to monitor the Army Medicine Public Health Command Website for the latest information at http://phc.amedd.army.mil/topics/discond/diseases/Pages/EbolaVirusDisease.aspx.
At home, work, and socially, continue to monitor your family's movements and those of your loved ones to ensure they are not showing Ebola-like symptoms. If you have any questions about Ebola or need immediate guidance from a healthcare provider, please feel free to contact the 24/7 Army Medicine Ebola Information Line (Wounded Soldier and Family Hotline): 1-800-984-8523; or DSN 421-3700. If you are located overseas (OCONUS) please call direct at: 312-421-3700
Related Links:
MERCURY Special Supplement: Ebola Virus Disease (Nov 2014)
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