Articles: personal-protective-equipment.
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On December 31, 2019, the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission announced an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), China is now at a critical period in the control of the epidemic. The Chinese Government has been taking a series of rapid, comprehensive, and effective prevention and control measures. As the pandemic has developed, a fact has become apparent: there is a serious dearth of emergency medical supplies, and especially an extreme shortage of personal protective equipment such as masks and medical protective clothing. ⋯ Although China has made great efforts to strengthen the ability to quickly respond to public health emergencies since the SARS outbreak in 2003 and it has clarified requirements for emergency supplies through legislation, the emergency reserve supplies program has not been effectively implemented, and there are also deficiencies in the types, quantity, and availability of emergency medical supplies. A sound system of emergency reserve supplies is crucial to the management of public health emergencies. Based on international experiences with pandemic control, the world should emphasize improving the system of emergency reserve medical supplies in the process of establishing and improving public health emergency response systems, and it should promote the establishment of international cooperative programs to jointly deal with public health emergencies of international concern in the future.
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There were over 60 firefighter line of duty deaths and roughly 30,000 injuries in the United States in 2016. Modern thermoprotective gear has reduced the risks firefighters face from both thermal and inhalation injury, but must be used properly to be effective. The purpose of this study is to examine gear use and associated injury in firefighters. ⋯ Firefighters risk injury by omitting gear and not adhering to National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) guidelines on gear sizing, maintenance, and station wear. Firefighters also frequently self-treat serious burns despite unique considerations regarding re-injury. National trends related to gear use and injury risk should be studied further, and standards should be developed for ensuring safe return to work.
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Asia Pac J Ophthalmol (Phila) · Mar 2020
COVID-19: Special Precautions in Ophthalmic Practice and FAQs on Personal Protection and Mask Selection.
The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory coronavirus-2, was first reported in December 2019. The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11, 2020 and as of April 17, 2020, 210 countries are affected with >2,000,000 infected and 140,000 deaths. The estimated case fatality rate is around 6.7%. ⋯ COVID-19 is highly infectious and could be life-threatening. Using our protocol and measures, we have achieved zero infection in our ophthalmic practices in Hong Kong and China. Preventing spread of COVID-19 is possible and achievable.
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J Infect Public Health · Mar 2020
Use of personal protective equipment to protect against respiratory infections in Pakistan: A systematic review.
Like other low-income countries, limited data are available on the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) in Pakistan. We conducted a systematic review of studies on PPE use for respiratory infections in healthcare settings in Pakistan. MEDLINE, Embase and Goggle Scholar were searched for clinical, epidemiological and laboratory-based studies in English, and 13 studies were included; all were observational/cross-sectional studies. ⋯ Compliance with PPE use was low among healthcare workers, and reuse of PPE was reported. Clear policies on the use of PPE and available PPE are needed to avoid inappropriate practices that could result in the spread of infection. Large, multimethod studies are recommended on PPE use to inform national infection-control guidelines.