The Paul G. Allen Ebola Program, the U.S. Department of State, and MRIGlobal have announced the release of a unique biocontainment unit that aims to improve preparedness for Ebola treatment or other global health threats.
Seattle-local Paul Allen is at the forefront of the biohazard container innovation, working with the Department of State to cull a $5-million public-private partnership to create the latest defense against contagious pathogens.
The Containerized Bio-Containment System is intended to reassure medical workers that they could be safely evacuated if infected while working in the field. Photo courtesy of the Paul G. Allen Ebola Program.
The recent worldwide Ebola outbreak created an urgent need for a way to transport patients and evacuate medical staff who fell ill while working in the field. And Allen was not the only one from Seattle who was coming to the world’s aid. Harborview Medical Center announced publicly in 2014 that it would accept Ebola patients, despite there being no local cases of the disease.
While the staff at Harborview never saw an actual case of Ebola, the Containerized Bio-Containment Systems that are now available would have been of interest in order to keep health care workers safe. The units can be rolled onto planes and flown in, using improved medevac capabilities for the safe transport of up to four patients to clinics where they will be treated.
Ebola-scare articles have quieted drastically in the last year since the outbreak in West Africa began. However, the disease’s effects are far from over, something that Paul Allen’s continuous donations (towards his pledge of $100 million) demonstrate.
The extent of Allen’s involvement is a different direction for the philanthropist, who previously has worked with the Allen Institute for Brain Science. His diverse interests, which range from the Seattle Seahawks to Vulcan Productions media company, make his quick immersion in the Ebola fight less surprising, but his remarkable pledge is just one part of his multifaceted approach to the issue.
View of the interior of the biocontainment units. Photo courtesy of the Paul G. Allen Ebola Program
Allen told the New York Times in Oct. 2014, “Everybody feels called sometimes to really pursue a certain thing that resonates with them, and this has resonated with me.”
The use of several strategies has lead to these biohazard containers, in an effort to help with recruitment of medical workers who may be deterred by the risk of falling ill themselves.
“This is really more about trying to attack every element of this problem,” Allen told the Times. “This disease expands at an exponential rate, so there is a need for exponentially more health care workers.”
According to the Times, previous experience with vaccine development with Kansas State University struck a chord with him and may have led him into further interest and involvement with Ebola.
“There was a vaccine that got developed and was tried in chimps, but its efficacy was never tested,” he said. “It was a bit of a dead end, but it planted a seed in my consciousness.”
from The Big Science Blog http://ift.tt/1hu0Z96
The Paul G. Allen Ebola Program, the U.S. Department of State, and MRIGlobal have announced the release of a unique biocontainment unit that aims to improve preparedness for Ebola treatment or other global health threats.
Seattle-local Paul Allen is at the forefront of the biohazard container innovation, working with the Department of State to cull a $5-million public-private partnership to create the latest defense against contagious pathogens.
The Containerized Bio-Containment System is intended to reassure medical workers that they could be safely evacuated if infected while working in the field. Photo courtesy of the Paul G. Allen Ebola Program.
The recent worldwide Ebola outbreak created an urgent need for a way to transport patients and evacuate medical staff who fell ill while working in the field. And Allen was not the only one from Seattle who was coming to the world’s aid. Harborview Medical Center announced publicly in 2014 that it would accept Ebola patients, despite there being no local cases of the disease.
While the staff at Harborview never saw an actual case of Ebola, the Containerized Bio-Containment Systems that are now available would have been of interest in order to keep health care workers safe. The units can be rolled onto planes and flown in, using improved medevac capabilities for the safe transport of up to four patients to clinics where they will be treated.
Ebola-scare articles have quieted drastically in the last year since the outbreak in West Africa began. However, the disease’s effects are far from over, something that Paul Allen’s continuous donations (towards his pledge of $100 million) demonstrate.
The extent of Allen’s involvement is a different direction for the philanthropist, who previously has worked with the Allen Institute for Brain Science. His diverse interests, which range from the Seattle Seahawks to Vulcan Productions media company, make his quick immersion in the Ebola fight less surprising, but his remarkable pledge is just one part of his multifaceted approach to the issue.
View of the interior of the biocontainment units. Photo courtesy of the Paul G. Allen Ebola Program
Allen told the New York Times in Oct. 2014, “Everybody feels called sometimes to really pursue a certain thing that resonates with them, and this has resonated with me.”
The use of several strategies has lead to these biohazard containers, in an effort to help with recruitment of medical workers who may be deterred by the risk of falling ill themselves.
“This is really more about trying to attack every element of this problem,” Allen told the Times. “This disease expands at an exponential rate, so there is a need for exponentially more health care workers.”
According to the Times, previous experience with vaccine development with Kansas State University struck a chord with him and may have led him into further interest and involvement with Ebola.
“There was a vaccine that got developed and was tried in chimps, but its efficacy was never tested,” he said. “It was a bit of a dead end, but it planted a seed in my consciousness.”
from The Big Science Blog http://ift.tt/1hu0Z96
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