Isovac’s Containment Units Isolate Infected Individuals from Medical Personnel, Eliminating Threat of Spreading Illness; More Than 150 People Per Day Enter U.S. From Ebola-Affected Regions in Africa
Source – http://www.kirk.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=1213
CHICAGO – U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.-16) led a letter today with Reps. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.-18), Rodney Davis (R-Ill.-13) and Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.-03) to Dr. Thomas Frieden, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), encouraging use of an FDA-cleared portable isolation chamber to help prevent the spread of Ebola. Isovac Products, based in Romeoville, Ill., manufactures a Patient Isolation Unit (PIU) that keeps medical personnel and first responders safe from exposure to Ebola when assisting patients who have contracted the disease. Today, Senator Kirk met with representatives from Isovac and received a demonstration on how the PIUs work to contain the spreading of infection.
“O’Hare is one of the top five airports for people traveling to the United States from Ebola-affected countries – if proper screening and containment measures are not in place, Ebola will continue to threaten the health and safety of Americans,” Senator Kirk said. “Isovac’s containment units will keep our medical personnel safe as they work to contain infected patients. I urge the CDC to approve the use of these units so that the men and women willing to place themselves in harm’s way to fight this deadly disease remain safe from infection.”
Originally developed to protect U.S. troops from biochemical weapons in Iraq and Afghanistan, the PIU has since been shipped to members of the U.S. Air Force and NATO personnel stationed in the Azores Islands to preempt any type of patient evacuation or transport if the disease is contracted. Additional units have been sent to Scott Air Force Base for use by the 375th Air Mobility Wing. If utilized, following an individual’s Ebola diagnosis, medical personnel would place the individual into the 7-foot-long containment chamber and begin the process of hooking them up to various IVs and oxygen supplies. The chamber is fully equipped with an air filtration system, attached medical gloves and IV pouches. Due to the infectious nature of the Ebola virus, those who are caring for infected individuals are at a high risk of contracting the illness through direct contact with mucous membranes or broken skin. While in the PIU, the infected person is then completely contained and poses no threat to those caring for the individual en route to a medical center or hospital. This chamber is FDA-cleared, and if approved by the CDC for use, could be sent to medical personnel and airport security across the world to prevent further spread of the disease to those caring for ill patients.
More than 3,430 people in West Africa have died from Ebola, with the first death on American soil happening just this morning in Dallas, Texas. According to the World Health Organization, more than a million people worldwide could be infected with Ebola by 2015. It was announced today that five major U.S. airports (Chicago O’Hare International Airport in Illinois, John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Newark International Airport in New Jersey, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Georgia and Washington-Dulles International Airport in Virginia) would begin screening passengers who are arriving in America from Ebola-affected countries. These five airports receive an estimated 150 passengers per day from the affected region, representing approximately 94 percent of travelers from the three affected countries, which are Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
A copy of the Members’ letter to Dr. Frieden is below:
October 8, 2014
Tom Frieden, MD, MPH
Director
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1600 Clifton Road
Atlanta, GA 30333
Dear Dr. Frieden:
We are writing to express our profound concern over the first death of the Ebola virus in the United States and bring your attention to an FDA-approved portable isolation chamber manufactured in Illinois. The use of these isolation chambers could prevent the spread of this horrific and highly infectious disease homeland and abroad. The latest outbreak of Ebola in West Africa has already killed over 3,430 people and the number of those infected is rising exponentially, despite the international community’s concerted efforts to contain Ebola. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there may be over a million people infected with Ebola worldwide by January 2015.
We appreciate the critical role the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is playing to combat Ebola in West Africa and the United States. However, any and all options should be on the table to contain further spread of the virus. We are concerned that many health care providers around the world currently do not have the capability to safely transport Ebola patients. Given Ebola’s transmission through contact with bodily fluids of the infected person, representing a significant threat to medical and emergency personnel who are treating or transporting Ebola patients, assuring contamination-free transport is essential.
A portable isolation chamber could be very advantageous in caring for the patient, protecting the healthcare workers from exposure, and preventing further outbreak. An American-made solution such as the “CAPSULS Patient Isolation Unit,” a portable isolation chamber manufactured by Isovac Products LLC in Illinois may prove to be beneficial. This device can be deployed for immediate use in hospitals throughout the United States, or to ensure safe transportation from US airports to US hospitals, as well as safely transporting Ebola patients from remote locations in West Africa.
On September 19, 2014, the President signed into law H.J.Res.124, the Continuing Appropriations Resolution. H.J.Res.124 appropriated $58 million to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and $30 million to the CDC to combat Ebola. As you assess the needs to fight this global health crisis, we ask you to consider funding devices which are capable of safe and portable transport of patients infected with Ebola.
As the first case of Ebola was recently diagnosed in the U.S., concern of our constituents and all Americans is growing. We stand ready to work with you to prevent the further spread of this horrendous disease. We hope that you and your team at CDC will seriously consider any and all solutions to combat Ebola worldwide, including taking advantage of this U.S.-manufactured product that is ready for deployment to help in the worldwide effort.
Sincerely,