- [Narrator] These are Chinese medical workers
arriving at Wuhan Red Cross Hospital
with a patient suspected of infection
with a new coronavirus.
The workers are wearing personal protective equipment,
or PPE, designed to prevent
exposure to infectious materials.
Infections and deaths from the novel coronavirus
have continued to rise throughout China
and around the world.
According to the U.S. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention,
how the new virus spreads isn't completely understood.
Here's the protective equipment that healthcare workers
have worn during major outbreaks such as SARS and Ebola
and why it's crucial in the battle
against the novel coronavirus epidemic.
- PPE is used for a variety of hazards.
In the healthcare world, one of the biggest hazards
is microbial and that could be
viruses, bacteria, fungi, et cetera.
Some are fine-air particles that enter your lungs.
Some are contact materials.
Others can enter through various orifices,
your nose or eyes.
So when we're choosing PPE, it's very important
to understand the transmission.
- [Narrator] Coronavirus is likely spread
through a cough, sneeze or other contact with saliva.
But because much is unknown about the virus,
healthcare workers are following precautions
to prevent different types of exposure.
- So today when you look at personal protective equipment
for microbial risk, such as coronavirus,
you're looking at four items and they would be
a face shield followed by a respirator of some sort
followed by a disposable coverall and finally gloves.
- [Narrator] Coveralls, face shields, goggles and gloves
protect against hazards like Ebola,
that can spread by direct contact with bodily fluids.
The respirator prevents inhering droplets in the air
from sneezes and coughs.
Healthcare workers wore respirators
while treating patients during the SARS and MERS outbreaks.
- The most sort of effective way of these pathogens
entering your body is through the respiratory system.
So that's why most PPE in healthcare settings
tends to focus around respiratory protection,
protecting what comes into your lungs.
- [Narrator] The highly-infectious nature of Ebola
led to the death of healthcare workers in Africa
and exposed a potential fatal flaw in the use of PPE.
- We learned very quickly that the sequence
of taking off the clothing was very critical.
We had people making the mistake of taking off their gloves
and then taking off their respirator
or their eyeglasses or their face shield.
And that simple mistake of taking one off before the other
contaminated them and, of course,
they ended up with the disease.
- [Narrator] The Ebola epidemic prompted
an update of PPE guidelines by the WHO.
A global shortage of masks has emerged as everyday people
try to protect themselves from the virus.
- As you travel the streets of any city,
especially in these days, you'll see a variety
of respiratory protection.
You'll see people wearing bandanas.
You'll see people wearing surgical masks.
You'll see people wearing a very colorful masks
that they buy downtown.
- [Narrator] While both respirators and surgical masks
are effective at filtering out large droplets,
surgical masks are less effective
at filtering out smaller droplets,
which can be inhaled through the sides of the mask.
- So what we have here is an N95 respirator.
It's 95% efficient at particles down to .3 microns
in diameter, very, very small.
As reference, your hair is 50 microns
so this is .3, it's a fraction of your hair.
- [Narrator] As healthcare officials look
to contain the spread of the coronavirus,
they will rely on the availability
and proper use of PPE in impacted areas.
- The key to stopping this epidemic
is a combination of isolating those that are infected
and making sure no one gets reinfected.
And the key for that infection
would be personal protective equipment.
So it's not just about you wearing the equipment
to protect your health, it's also about
stopping the disease and in this case,
personal protective equipment is really
the vital answer to stopping this epidemic from spreading.
(bright quirky music)