If you are a nursing graduate, chances are you have not studied Ebola in nursing school. Now, you are hearing stories about doctors and nurses getting tested positive. You are also hearing stories about how few of the healthcare individuals have tested positive for Ebola in the United States.
Now nursing schools and nursing departments are providing mandatory inservice and lectures on Ebola disease. It is a possibility that you could come in contact with a patient who has visited West Africa. Honestly, anything is a possibility.
Hospitals are now trying to prepare their health care professionals for this chance. Hospitals are cracking down on in services for proper use of PPE (personal protective equipment). New questions are included in the initial assessments, such as “Have you visited West Africa recently?” and “Have you been experiencing any nausea, vomiting, fever, and bleeding?”
If you are not up to date on Ebola, catch yourself up!
Ebola was once known to be a rare and deadly disease. Now the Ebola epidemic has spread further in West Africa. With few american individuals scaring the United States with positive results, the public has become extremely aware of Ebola and the possibility of getting infected.
Odds are, you are most likely not going to get infected with Ebola unless you come in direct contact with an individual who has tested positive for Ebola. The positive individual must already be showing symptoms of Ebola.
What You Need to Know:
- The Ebola incubation period is 8 to 21 days.
- Ebola impairs kidney and liver function.
- Ebola fatality rate is between 50 to 90%.
- There is no cure for Ebola.
- The Ebola virus is NOT airborne.
- Health workers and caregivers of the Ebola patients have the most risk.
