Oklahoma Health Officials Taking Precautions To Prevent Spread Of Ebola
Metro hospitals said they are ready for Ebola after the first U.S. case was diagnosed in Dallas.
“There are all sorts of isolation approaches to people who have infectious diseases,” Dr. Mary Ann Bauman with Integris Health said.
OU Medical told News 9, like hospitals across the county, it's following procedures put forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Those precautions include simple instructions such as: Patients should be isolated in a single-patient room (containing a private bathroom) with the door closed.
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Ebola is not an airborne virus.
“You really have to come in contact with some of the bodily fluids of the person, like urine or blood or feces,” Dr. Bauman said.
“Right now, there is no reason for Oklahoma County residents to be concerned,” Oklahoma County Heath Department Epidemiologist Cynthia Harry said
The biggest hurdle for containment may be in the diagnosis itself.
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Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas first evaluated its patient last Friday.
The man said he's been in disease-ravaged West Africa but was sent home.
An Ebola diagnosis came two days later when symptoms were worse.
The CDC now has teams going door to door in Dallas, asking if anyone may have been in contact with the infected patient.
