October 16, 2014
Area(s) of Interest:
Infectious Diseases Public Health
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Sept. 30 confirmed the first U.S. case of Ebola, and developments associated with the virus continue to unfold. In the past week, two Dallas nurses have been diagnosed with Ebola after treating Thomas Eric Duncan, the first U.S. ebola patient, who died last week after travelling from Liberia to Texas to visit family. Both health care workers were with Duncan during what the CDC says is the highest risk period—when a patient is vomiting and having diarrhea.
To help you prepare your practices and patients to understand and prevent Ebola, the American Medical Association (AMA) has assembled resources developed by Ebola experts. Visit AMA's online Ebola Resource Center for information from the CDC and other public health groups. Resources cover:
Understanding the virusPreparing your hospital or practiceScreening and diagnosing EbolaTreating patients with the virusThe resource center will be updated regularly with the most up-to-date information needed for physicians, practice staff and patients.
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) recently hosted a teleconference for health care providers to discuss the agency's efforts to protect Californians and prevent the spread of the virus in our state. The teleconference can be played back on-demand on the CDPH website.
The CDC is also planning more opportunities for U.S. health care providers to receive additional training and to get their questions answered by CDC experts. Upcoming training and educational sessions will include:
October 20: CDC and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will host joint conference calls for U.S. health care workers to discuss health care preparedness and answer questions or concerns. These calls will be scheduled regularly.October 21: CDC will host a live event in New York City to educate frontline health care workers on Ebola; the event will be streamed live to hospitals across the country.CDC will host a series of ongoing webinars tailored to specific health care specialties on preparedness.CDC will host conference calls with professional organizations to discuss member questions or concerns and to increase dissemination of critical information to health care providers.Clinicians can get updates on these events at www.cdc.gov/ebola.
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