Ebola Isolation
Negative Pressure Room and a Special Kind of Isolation Rooms in Hospitals
The Ebola virus can be transmitted via contact with an infected patient's bodily fluids, airborne particulate epithelial cells, and with the virus suspended in aerosol moisture (droplet transmission). Clinical studies performed by the U.S. Army in 1995 (1) and 2012 (2) also suggest that in cool, dry climates, the Ebola virus may exhibit airborne transmission. The patent-pending Odulair Ebola Isolation Unit provides virus biocontainment that address all of these known and possible modes of transmission.
EBOLA VIRUS TRANSMISSION
The most common mode of transmission is through direct contact with an Ebola patient or the patient's bodily fluids. The virus must reach broken skin or a mucous membrane, but that is almost unavoidable because the patient and everything they touch are contaminated for up to seven weeks.
The patent pending Odulair Ebola Isolation Unit utilizes a central decontamination room that provides a safe room to spray or wipe down people and equipment to inactivate the Ebola virus. The Unit also utilizes a specialized pass-through autoclave to sterilize human waste such as urine, feces, and shower water including sweat, bagged biohazard waste such as clothing, linen, used consumables, needles, and anything contaminated with the Ebola virus. This sterilization pass-through eliminates the need for costly biohazard waste transport. The combination of the central decontamination room and the specialized autoclave provide complete isolation of bodily fluids and inactivation of the virus, addressing the most common mode of Ebola virus transmission.
AIRFLOW in ISOLATION UNIT
As the Ebola patient’s symptoms advance, they suffer from severe dehydration causing epithelial cells to flake off and float in the air. A lesser known form of transmission is via inhaling or allowing these microparticles to come in contact with mucous membranes. Although wearing a respirator in the hot zone decreases contact with these epithelial cells, it is not always 100% effective. The Odulair Ebola Isolation Unit incorporates two technologies to address this mode of transmission. The Unit utilizes the highest level of HEPA Type A filtration that is 99.99% effective at eliminating airborne particles down to 0.3 microns in size. Additionally, all isolation room air is treated with germicidal ultraviolet (UV) radiation, which has demonstrated effectiveness at inactivating the Ebola virus. This extra containment step helps to provide a safer environment for health care staff when they are working within the contaminated hot zone.
Research on the transmission of the Ebola virus indicates that it may occur via aerosol particles on moisture from breathing, coughing, and sneezing. In clinical trials conducted by the U.S. Army, at temperatures between 22 to 28 degrees Celsius at 35 to 65% humidity, the inhaled aerosolized Ebola virus infected 100% of primate study participants suggesting that under some conditions the virus may be airborne (1, 2). The Odulair Ebola Isolation Unit exceeds the patient airborne infection isolation requirements in both the number of complete air exchanges per hour and the level of negative air pressure containment.
The Isolation Unit far exceeds the existing level of hospital safety for health care workers by providing a positive pressure protective environment, similar to a surgical theater environment, preventing airborne contaminants and the virus from entering into the medical staff work area. This is the only Ebola Isolation Unit that actively protects the medical staff against known and possible airborne transmission.
Our modular building design Odulair Ebola Isolation Hospital utilizes a 40' x 40' (12.2m x 12.2m) module providing everything needed to isolate and treat two Ebola patients in a major hospital system. Multiple modules can be added horizontally and vertically to create a larger facility for increased patient use in almost any shape configuration. This module was designed for use in the major hospital systems in New York City and to provide a standardized Ebola Isolation Unit design for New York statewide use. This modular Odulair Ebola Patient Isolation and Treatment Unit can be operational in less than 6 weeks after receipt of order in the United States and it exceeds all of the CDC Guidelines for treating Ebola patients in a U.S. hospital.
This Odulair Ebola Isolation Unit is built in a tent to allow for rapid shipping via air freight. This portable isolation unit includes an 8-bed isolation tent with individual rooms for suspected Ebola patients (white tent), a small laboratory for testing blood samples on site (yellow tent connected at North), a small isolation tent for group treatment of confirmed Ebola patients (yellow tent connected at West), a protective environment medical staff tent (green tent in center), a technical decontamination tent for cleaning equipment (separate yellow tent), and a gross decontamination tent for PPE spraying (small red and yellow tent North of the technical decontamination tent).
Our container-based Odulair Ebola Isolation Unit provides the same level of patient isolation and medical staff protective environment as our modular building design, however, each area is significantly smaller. This allows the inclusion of four patient beds in the same 40' x 40' (12.2m x 12.2m) footprint with space to spare. The unique container design also makes this a more affordable option for smaller hospitals.
EBOLA ISOLATION UNIT: ULTRA BIOCONTAINMENT UNIT
Our modular building design Odulair Ebola Isolation Hospital utilizes a 40' x 40' (12.2m x 12.2m) module providing everything needed to isolate and treat two Ebola patients in a major hospital system. Multiple modules can be added horizontally and vertically to create a larger facility for increased patient use in almost any shape configuration. This module was designed for use in the major hospital systems in New York City and to provide a standardized Ebola Isolation Unit design for New York statewide use. This modular Odulair Ebola Patient Isolation and Treatment Unit can be operational in less than 6 weeks after receipt of order in the United States and it exceeds all of the CDC Guidelines for treating Ebola patients in a U.S. hospital.
This Odulair Ebola Isolation Unit is built in a tent to allow for rapid shipping via air freight. This portable isolation unit includes an 8-bed isolation tent with individual rooms for suspected Ebola patients (white tent), a small laboratory for testing blood samples on site (yellow tent connected at North), a small isolation tent for group treatment of confirmed Ebola patients (yellow tent connected at West), a protective environment medical staff tent (green tent in center), a technical decontamination tent for cleaning equipment (separate yellow tent), and a gross decontamination tent for PPE spraying (small red and yellow tent North of the technical decontamination tent).
Our container-based Odulair Ebola Isolation Unit provides the same level of patient isolation and medical staff protective environment as our modular building design, however, each area is significantly smaller. This allows the inclusion of four patient beds in the same 40' x 40' (12.2m x 12.2m) footprint with space to spare. The unique container design also makes this a more affordable option for smaller hospitals.
Odulair Isolation Units such as Mobile Biocontainment Units, Mobile Isolation Pods, Mobile Isolation Tents and Vehicles, and Modular Biocontainment and Isolation Units are available for sale, lease, and rent. Financing available for qualifying customers and projects. Contact your Odulair representative today to find out more.
1. E. Johnson, N. Jaax, J. White, P. Jahrling. Lethal experimental infections of rhesus monkeys by aerosolized Ebola virus. Int. J. Exp. Path. 1995, 76, 227-236.
2. Elizabeth E. Zumbrun, Holly A. Bloomfield, John M. Dye, Ty C. Hunter, Paul A. Dabisch, Nicole L. Garza, Nicholas R. Bramel, Reese J. Baker, Roger D. Williams, Donald K. Nichols, and Aysegul Nalca. A Characterization of Aerosolized Sudan Virus Infection in African Green Monkeys, Cynomolgus Macaques, and Rhesus Macaques. Viruses 2012, 4, 2115-2136; doi:10.3390/v4102115.
