[Qiviut]

They have people spraying down the suits before they get out of them - quite a few of the stories posted have pictures of that process. In fact, that was Nancy Writebol’s job when she got Ebola .... a job that may not have been as “low risk” as she thought, although she could have been infected elsewhere .... interesting that she sometimes didn’t wear a mask ....

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“My responsibility originally was I was going to mix the bleach solutions,” Writebol said. She ended up helping doctors and nurses suit up before they entered the isolation unit, and then helped them remove the suits correctly when they came out.

It’s a vital job — the layers of gloves, the goggles, the boots, the body suits all protect workers from the virus-laden bodily fluids that spread infection. But all that protection does no good if the doctors and nurses get even a few drops of that contaminated mess on their hands or skin, or in their eyes, as they pull the gear off.

Nancy helped spray everyone down, get the layers off in the right order and then made sure everything got either burned or disinfected.

“I was considered to be in a low-risk zone,” she said. “There was a line, an actual line on the floor that I didn’t cross. When they came out and I decontaminated them, I never touched them. I was wearing a gown, I was wearing gloves, and sometimes I was wearing a mask, but not all the time.” But she always had a gown and gloves on. “There was never a fear that I would be contaminated.”

Link: http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ebola-virus-outbreak/ebola-survivor-nancy-writebol-all-doctors-could-say-was-we-n194361

[FR_addict]

If the decontamination isn't thorough enough, I wonder how long the virus can survive on the suits. 1 day, 2 days or more?? Sounds like Nancy needed a bio hazard suit just to wash down the suits.

[FR_addict]

Here's what WHO has on their site:
Ebola: Protective measures for medical staff

What you need to know

The risk of Ebola transmission is low. Becoming infected requires direct, physical contact with the bodily fluids (vomit, faeces, urine, blood, semen, etc.) of people who have been infected with or died from Ebola virus disease (EVD).

http://www.who.int/csr/disease/ebola/protective-measures-staff/en/

[SgtHooper]

She should have been wearing a mask at all times during decon, since sprayed water, for example, can launch germs airborne. I did not see the whole process, but it seems like most anything else, people get lax, the system breaks down, and away we go.