The Ebola virus is slowly but surely moving its way to other countries. After leaving one man dead and two health care workers infected in the U.S., all nation leaders are taking the Ebola pandemic crisis seriously, in all its detail.
The United Kingdom is now taking advanced measures especially after a nurse who was treating infected priests in Madrid has contracted the virus last week. Health care professionals like doctors and nurses, along with family members of the infected, are the ones most susceptible to acquiring the virus, since they are exposed to the victims' vomit, blood, and other bodily fluids.
Jeremy Hunt, the U.K. Secretary of State for Health, addressed the country's level of preparedness against the dreaded Ebola virus. According to his statement, all ambulances have personal protective equipment or PPE so health care workers can do their jobs without risking their own health. He also added that hospitals have arranged protocols when handling suspected Ebola patients by isolating them, decreasing the risk of contamination. A blood sample will then be sent to Public Health England's specialist laboratory for rapid testing for the virus. They are also ready if a patient turns up positive. The infected will be immediately transferred to the Royal Free Hospital in north London, which is the U.K. medical center specializing in treating the most deadly and contagious diseases.
In France, as reported by BuzzFeed, they have a list of 12 hospitals that are prepared in containing Ebola. Germany, on the other hand, is utilizing nine "highly specialized treatment centers" to handle patients with their advanced equipment like air-locks and decontamination facilities. Rest assured there are no pathogens escaping the facility. Italy also has put up two facilities located in Rome and in Milan to handle suspected victims of Ebola.
Ebola is unavoidable. It's very tricky and invasive. One may only feel flu-like symptoms, initially making it hard to determine if one is infected. With that, no place in the world can avoid Ebola, thus, Europe is making all necessary measures to protect its citizens.
