Official: U.S. military?s response to Ebola hampered by lack of expertise with virus

[Gemineye]

Washington Post
By Lena H. Sun. September 9

Despite President Obama?s call for increased involvement of the U.S. military in the fight against the rapidly escalating Ebola epidemic in West Africa, the United States is hamstrung by a lack of military medical personnel with expertise dealing with the deadly virus, a top official in charge of coordinating the U.S. response said Tuesday.

?There isn?t an existing cadre of people who have experience in treating this epidemic other than? the aid group Doctors Without Borders...


http://www.washingtonpost.com/natio...al&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

 

[Nika]

Re: Official: U.S. military?s response to Ebola hampered by lack of expertise with virus

This was my point about a week ago. Good to see that some people are keeping in real. This is a serious predicament and new ground for our military. They are kitted out to kill. Their medical corp is geared toward extraordinary surgical and post-surgical care, NOT for large scale viral outbreaks.

 

[Lizw]

Re: Official: U.S. military?s response to Ebola hampered by lack of expertise with virus

Washington Post
By Lena H. Sun. September 9

Despite President Obama?s call for increased involvement of the U.S. military in the fight against the rapidly escalating Ebola epidemic in West Africa, the United States is hamstrung by a lack of military medical personnel with expertise dealing with the deadly virus, a top official in charge of coordinating the U.S. response said Tuesday.

?There isn?t an existing cadre of people who have experience in treating this epidemic other than? the aid group Doctors Without Borders...


http://www.washingtonpost.com/natio...al&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Yes, this was my reaction as well on reading the calls for 'military expertise.' What bio-security expertise we have is, I believe, geared much more toward stopping a biological attack than dealing with one already in progress. Not suggesting that this is in any way some kind of terrorist attack, by the way.

 

[JJackson]

Re: Official: U.S. military?s response to Ebola hampered by lack of expertise with virus

I am not sure it is the military medics that are their primary resource.
What they have, and we need, is logistics, communications, transport, command & control and engineering. They can erect field hospital, dig graves, move equipment and personnel into and around the area and provide communication between the groups involved in patient treatment.

 

[AnnaLisa]

Re: Official: U.S. military?s response to Ebola hampered by lack of expertise with virus

I'm an RN, with public health and inpatient experience, and I think I could work in the hot zone with some minimal training and orientation. Doesn't the military have RNs, physician's assistants, medics etc? We are talking about maintaining fields for the most part. I would think our military would mostly be involved in training and supervising local people to do the basic care of these patients, or perhaps contact tracing. It isn't brain surgery! I don't think the actual care of the patients is the issue, they don't even have IVs! If our military lacks information about a potential bio-weapon, this worries me.

BTW, I'm retired and on immunosuppressants, or I would consider volunteering. It pains me not to be able to help.

 

[Vibrant62]

Re: Official: U.S. military?s response to Ebola hampered by lack of expertise with virus

In the event that ebola (or a disease or biohazard like it) were to break out in any first nation country, military law would ensue, and it would be the military that would need to lead a medical and logistical containment response.

I find it more than a little worrying that the military do not currently feel equipped to respond to this situation.