Advertisement

25 medical staff treating Ebola victim in Norway

NTB/The Local
NTB/The Local - [email protected]
25 medical staff treating Ebola victim in Norway
Guards at Ullevål Hospital in Oslo where Norway's first Ebola victim is being treated. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB scanpix

The Norwegian woman, admitted to Ullevål hospital in Oslo after catching the Ebola virus while working in Sierra Leone, is being treated by a team of 25 people, it was revealed on Tuesday.

Advertisement

23 of these are specially trained nurses, while two of the team are doctors responsible for taking turns to treat the woman, reported Aftenposten.

The Norwegian woman, who was flown home from Sierra Leone last Tuesday, is being treated at a high risk infection unit at Ullevål Hospital.
 
Her condition was on Monday was described as stable, but she is said to be showing signs of improvement.
 
Following the news on Sunday that a woman at a hospital in Texas in the US who was treating an Ebola patient, was herself infected by the deadly virus. Ullevål Hospital stated they have full control of the situtaion and effective routines in place to prevent the virus from spreading.
 
Head of division at the infection medical division at Ullevål hospital, Dag Kvale, said to NTB on Monday: “Our equipment is above standard and we have professional personnel. There's only a few doctors who have contact with the woman. It is a demanding situation for those involved, but we have entered a type of emergency situation, where everyone gives something extra.”
 
Kvale said to Aftenposten that the atmosphere in the group treating the woman is positive and the desire to contribute is equally strong.
 
“It is a tough work plan because we want the team to consist of as few people as possible. But the atmosphere is good within the group and spirits are high, ” he said.
 
Minister of Health, Bent Høie, said in an interview with VG that more health personnel is the way to go in order to stop an Ebola outbreak.
 
Høie said to VG: “Everyone must see that the UN and other international organizations which were not prepared for this kind of infection, plus some individual countries, didn't react quickly enough to the situation in West Africa. It is correct to conclude that we have failed. We will not spend much time now to challenge those who are in the middle of the crisis and are trying to cope with it. But once we regain control, we have to evaluate what worked and what didn't work in order to learn for the future. Now we will concentrate on increasing our efforts.”

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also