Significant Health Care Event
Significant Health Care Event: Ebola Outbreak
Gilberto Colon
HCS/531
13 October 2014
George De Rosa
Significant Health Care Event: Ebola Outbreak
Ever since the Ebola virus was discovered in West Africa in 1976, it has become the most resilient and lethal virus known to date. The Ebola virus has become one of the most fatal diseases in the world (Evans & Kaslow, 1997). The latest outbreak of this disease in West Africa has infected over 70 people and out of those, 43 infected died due to the disease (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). This virus has been responsible for the death of thousands of people in West Africa, and the number keeps growing. During the past month, the United States has had two cases of Ebola. This major event has significantly affected how the United States health care system isolates and treats patients with the disease. The United States has always been vulnerable to an Ebola outbreak. This recent event generated the question Are health care organizations in the United States prepared and equipped to deal with a virus like Ebola?
Despite years of research, scientists haven't been able to determine the reservoir for the Ebola virus (Stimola,2011). The person can become infected with the virus in many ways but it is mainly by having direct contact with an infected patients mucous membranes or broken skin. It also is spread by the exposure of body fluids like urine, sweat, feces, blood, and vomit of an infected person.
The Ebola virus is very hard to detect because it can have an incubation time of up to 21 days in some cases. This means that it can take up to 21 days before the first symptom appears. Some of the signs and symptoms are severe headaches, muscle pain, weakness, vomiting, abdominal pain, unexplained bleeding and a fever greater than 101.5 degrees Fahrenheit. Although the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has established guidelines on how to prevent the
Gilberto Colon
HCS/531
13 October 2014
George De Rosa
Significant Health Care Event: Ebola Outbreak
Ever since the Ebola virus was discovered in West Africa in 1976, it has become the most resilient and lethal virus known to date. The Ebola virus has become one of the most fatal diseases in the world (Evans & Kaslow, 1997). The latest outbreak of this disease in West Africa has infected over 70 people and out of those, 43 infected died due to the disease (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). This virus has been responsible for the death of thousands of people in West Africa, and the number keeps growing. During the past month, the United States has had two cases of Ebola. This major event has significantly affected how the United States health care system isolates and treats patients with the disease. The United States has always been vulnerable to an Ebola outbreak. This recent event generated the question Are health care organizations in the United States prepared and equipped to deal with a virus like Ebola?
Despite years of research, scientists haven't been able to determine the reservoir for the Ebola virus (Stimola,2011). The person can become infected with the virus in many ways but it is mainly by having direct contact with an infected patients mucous membranes or broken skin. It also is spread by the exposure of body fluids like urine, sweat, feces, blood, and vomit of an infected person.
The Ebola virus is very hard to detect because it can have an incubation time of up to 21 days in some cases. This means that it can take up to 21 days before the first symptom appears. Some of the signs and symptoms are severe headaches, muscle pain, weakness, vomiting, abdominal pain, unexplained bleeding and a fever greater than 101.5 degrees Fahrenheit. Although the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has established guidelines on how to prevent the