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Ebol A Case Study

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Since the last Ebola outbreak in 2014, a debate has emerged about what type of Personal protective equipment (PPE) is required for aerosol-generating procedures in order to reduce the risk of transmission. Health care workers providing care to patients with Ebola have questioned whether to use powered air-purifying respirator (PARP) or N95 masks. It seems like the main reason behind this uncertainty is based on past event where health care workers were infected because of improper Personal protective equipment (PPE). An example of this was the case of the American nurse Nina Pham, who was the second health worker to contract Ebola outside of West Africa while caring for patients with the virus, despite of the use of personal protective equipment (Macintyre, 2014). Also, another situation in which current …show more content…

Some disadvantages include improper fit, poor tolerance by users due to breathing resistance, high cost of stocking different sizes, and possible contamination due to exposed face and neck (Roberts, 2014). On the other hand, powered air-purifying respirator (PARP) filters at least 99.97% of particles, making them a better option when seeking greater levels of respiratory protection (Roberts, 2014). Other advantages include no need for fit testing, head and neck protection and permits continuous bedside care of the patient (Roberts, 2014). Some negative aspects include difficulties when communicating with the patient due to the noise coming from the hood, and the fact that it requires batteries (Roberts, 2014). Although this type of respirator has some disadvantages, the positive features far out weight the negative aspects. Ultimately, it is clear that a powered air-purifying respirator (PARP) could be the safeties way to reduce the risk of transmission of Ebola among health care

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