As the Red Cross continues to scale up its response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, Red Cross staff and volunteers who are responding to the global health emergency are taking every precaution to stay safe while they provide care to patients infected with Ebola.
The Ebola virus is transmitted through direct contact with blood or body fluid of an infected person or contaminated items. This
infographic illustrates the means of transmission and many other facts about Ebola.
You’ve likely seen photos of health workers suited up in goggles, mask, gloves, boots, full body suit and apron. This gear, also known as personal protective equipment or PPE, is uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time in the heat of West Africa, but it’s what keeps workers safe and able to provide care to people infected Ebola. Red Cross workers responding to the Ebola outbreak receive special training in how to use this equipment.
The protective equipment covers every part of the body, from head to toe. Red Cross aid workers Jean-Pierre Taschereau and Wendy Rhymer recently discussed the importance of this equipment and demonstrated the process of putting on the gear on Discovery’s Daily Planet. You can
check out the video here.
Doctor Lauralee Morris is one of these aid workers. The Canadian Red Cross delegate recently returned home after working at the
Red Cross Ebola treatment centre in Sierra Leone. She describes her experience in
this article published in the Brampton Guardian.
The Red Cross response also includes providing education and dispelling myths, tracing the contacts of people who have been infected, and caring for the deceased and helping families safely bury their loved ones. More than 4000 local Red Cross volunteers have been mobilized along with international aid workers to provide life-saving interventions in affected communities.
Canadians can help by donating to the
West Africa Ebola Fund.