Big Isle health care facilities remain on the lookout for Ebola symptoms following the announcement Thursday that state health officials determined a patient in isolation on Oahu was not carrying the deadly virus.
Big Isle health care facilities remain on the lookout for Ebola symptoms following the announcement Thursday that state health officials determined a patient in isolation on Oahu was not carrying the deadly virus.
In a press conference Thursday morning, Department of Health Director Dr. Linda Rosen explained the patient was isolated at The Queen’s Medical Center because of an abundance of caution.
“The hospital acted in the best interests of the community,” she said. “We commend the facility for being prepared and remaining vigilant regarding the risk of Ebola. After investigation by the health department, it was determined that the individual did not meet the clinical or travel exposure criteria for an Ebola infection.”
The first reported case of Ebola within the U.S., which was confirmed Tuesday, arrived in the country after a 28-hour trip from western Africa, according to the Associated Press. The 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa is the largest outbreak of the virus in history and has affected multiple countries in the region.
The discovery of the disease in the U.S. has put health care facilities on heightened alert, despite the fact the chances of it arriving in Hawaii are very small, said Deputy State Epidemiologist Dr. Melissa Viray.
“The risk of an actual case of Ebola is still fairly unlikely,” she said Wednesday.
On Thursday, administrators at Hilo Medical Center hosted a meeting to update staff on procedures necessary to diagnose and treat possible Ebola patients.
“We are doing best practices and tracking what’s going around,” said Arthur Sampaga, HMC’s emergency management coordinator.
Sampaga explained that staff regularly drill for various scenarios, including handling patients who might be infected with highly contagious and dangerous pathogens such as Ebola.
Meanwhile, Infection Control Director Chad Shibuya monitors daily updates from the CDC and the state health department and disseminates the information to those who need it.
“We don’t want to be caught unprepared,” he said.
According to Viray, despite Hawaii Island’s rural nature and its lack of many of the health care specialists found on Oahu, island hospitals have the materials and the know-how to care for individuals and prevent the spread of the illness.
“There have been conversations between us (Department of Health and hospital facilities around the state), asking them making sure they’re ready. … To be completely honest, the situation we have here, even in rural areas, is so different from West Africa,” she said. “We have running water, floors, adequate staffing. It’s a completely different situation. Even the most basic hospitals in the U.S. in general are far, far, far advanced in terms of what they can bring to bear.”
Should a patient showing signs of being infected with Ebola arrive at HMC’s emergency room, staff members said they are prepared to isolate the patient and treat him or her.
The important first step, Shibuya explained, is for hospital staff to catalogue symptoms — including headache, fever, joint and muscle aches, weakness, fatigue, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain and lack of appetite, and in some cases bleeding — and to be sure to ask the patient about any recent travel outside the country.
“That’s the thing that sets it apart from others (diseases with similar physical symptoms),” he said.
If physical symptoms of Ebola and recent travel to West Africa are determined, local, state and federal health officials will be contacted and the patient will be isolated. Staff will be required to wear gloves, face masks, eye protection and gowns as they work with the patient. The virus is transmitted through bodily fluids, and is only contagious when the symptoms are present.
Depending on how sick the patient is, he or she could be transported to another facility on Oahu for care, but any such transfer brings with it additional risks of exposing more people to the virus, Sampaga said.
“Moving the patient increases the chances of exposure (to other people),” he said.
Sampaga added that hospital officials think the likelihood of Ebola making an appearance on Hawaii Island is very rare, but it’s best for all health care providers and the general public to be aware of the symptoms in the event it does happen.
“It’s better to have an abundance of caution,” he said.
Email Colin M. Stewart at cstewart@hawaiitribune-herald.com.