CDC tightens up PPE guidance for Ebola patient care

As the Ebola outbreak intensifies, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) this week issued revised guidelines for the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers caring for patients with Ebola.

A CDC press release detailed the guidance, which centers on the following three principles: rigorous and repeated training for healthcare workers, no skin exposure when PPE is worn, and all workers must be supervised by a trained monitor who observes each worker taking PPE on and off.

The release notes that Emory University Hospital, Nebraska Medical Center, and the NIH Clinical Center followed the three principles when care for Ebola patients and no workers have contracted the illness. CDC no longer recommends the use of goggles because they may not provide complete skin coverage, as opposed to a single-use disposable full face shield.

Read the CDC release here.