Ebola virus spreads, BiH needs at least 500,000 KM for adequate equipment

The World Health Organization provides new data daily on the number of infected and dead from Ebola - hemorrhagic fever, and due to the appearance of cases outside the African continent, caution has been raised to the highest level, writes the Bosnian news agency Patria.

Preparations for the possible appearance of people infected with the Ebola virus are also being made in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and all levels of the healthcare system of the Sarajevo Canton, the Federal Ministry of Health, the Federal Institute for Public Health, the Federal Sanitary Inspectorate, the State Border Service, as well as the University Clinical Center in Sarajevo are involved in this process.

As announced by the University Clinical Center Sarajevo (KCUS), given that Ebola is a highly fatal disease, KCUS has taken the most serious approach to organizing work in terms of caring for suspected or ill patients with Ebola and maximizing the protection of healthcare workers.

In this regard, a space has been designated for a temporary isolation point (Day Hospital of the Psychiatric Clinic) which needs to be purpose-adapted. The procurement of beds with negative pressure and accompanying equipment of adequate biosafety level is planned. Also planned is the procurement of personal protective equipment and consumables, as well as the procurement of certain medications, the statement said.

As the Patria agency learns, at least 500,000 KM is needed for this purpose, but it is still unknown who will provide the funds for the procurement of equipment and when.

KCUS employees are educated daily and improve their knowledge, because the appearance of Ebola is something that we and a large part of the rest of the world are facing for the first time. Therefore, the adaptation of procedures recommended by the WHO is underway, the KCUS announced.