# 4726
From the ICEID 2010 Conference going on this week in Atlanta, Lisa Schnirring of CIDRAP News has been keeping us updated. You can find all of her reports from the conference here.
Last night Lisa filed a report on research into protecting workers from airborne pathogens - particularly in the health care environment – and dealing with workplace anthrax contamination.
Last year, the debate over how to protect HCWs sprung to the forefront when, early on in the pandemic, it became apparent that there were too few N95 masks stockpiled.
Nurses Protest Lack Of PPE’s
Report: Nurses File Complaint Over Lack Of PPE
California Nurses Association Statement On Lack Of PPE
Fortunately, the novel H1N1 virus did not turn out to be as virulent as SARS, or H5N1, and the crisis gradually subsided.
We may not be so lucky with the next airborne pathogen.
But safety issues go beyond PPEs (Personal Protective Equipment) like N95 masks. As the following report tells us, we’ve a serious shortage of negative pressure isolation rooms in this country as well.
Research continues on shielding workers from airborne pathogens
Lisa Schnirring
Staff Writer
Jul 14, 2010 ATLANTA (CIDRAP News) – The early response to the H1N1 pandemic exposed ongoing sore points regarding protection of workers in healthcare and other settings during epidemics or bioterrorist attacks, and federal researchers today highlighted current efforts to address some of the concerns.
They covered emerging issues such as a need for more surge capacity for airborne-pathogen isolation units and possible enhancements for guidance on responding to anthrax attacks in workplace settings. The experts presented their updates in a panel discussion at the International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases (ICEID).
CIDRAP also has another mini-roundup of some of the slide presentation abstracts from the conference.
ICEID NEWS SCAN: School closures, pneumonia and flu deaths, raw milk demand, sprout outbreaks
