Sunday, October 12, 2014

University cleaners told to watch for blood and vomit in students’ bedrooms as 20,000 return to Britain from Ebola-hit countries for start of term

University cleaners told to watch for blood and vomit in students’ bedrooms as 20,000 return to Britain from Ebola-hit countries for start of term 

  • Special attention is being paid to students sharing bathrooms and kitchens
  • Comes after the government announced plans to screen air passengers
  • Yesterday emergency services staged nationwide Ebola outbreak simulation 
University cleaners have been warned to look out for blood and vomit as an estimated 20,000 students return from West Africa for the start of term.
Universities the length and breadth of the country have drawn up emergency measures to monitor the highest-risk students for up to three weeks - the incubation period of the Ebola virus.
Special attention is being paid to those who may be sharing bathrooms and kitchens, but officials stressed they were sensitive to any backlash against West African students.
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Fears: The Postgraduate Statistics Centre at Lancaster University, where cleaners have been warned to watch out for body fluids when cleaning the bathrooms in halls of residence housing West African students
Fears: The Postgraduate Statistics Centre at Lancaster University, where cleaners have been warned to watch out for body fluids when cleaning the bathrooms in halls of residence housing West African students
About 20,000 students from West African countries affected by Ebola are studying at British universities, the Sunday Times reports.
Around 17,000 of these are from Nigeria, however, where the outbreak is said to have been contained.
'Most universities are making sure cleaners are briefed on the risks,' Fay Sherrington, a student services manager at Lancaster University told the Sunday Times.
'They have more chance of coming into contact with bodily fluids because they are cleaning bathrooms in residences.'
The move follows growing fears that an infected person could bring Ebola virus into the UK and cause an outbreak, as has already happened in the U.S.
The government this week announced plans to screen air and Eurostar passengers arriving in Britain, but with no symptoms visible during Ebola's incubation period, there are questions as to how effective such screening may be.
Exeter University revealed it had around 200 students returning from Ebola affected areas. A group of university officers would be monitoring accommodation arrangements, particularly where there was shared use of kitchen and bathrooms, but a spokesman insisted officials were sensitive to the possibility of alienating West African students. 
At University College, London, advice has been circulated telling students to call emergency services if they develop headache, diarrhoea or vomiting within three weeks of arriving back in Britain. And at Cardiff University staff are being told to isolate students complaining of Ebola-like symptoms.
MailOnline contacted the National Union of Students for comment on the arrangements, but none was forthcoming.
Melting pot: At University College London, advice has been circulated telling students to call emergency services if they develop headache, diarrhoea or vomiting within three weeks of arriving back in Britain
Melting pot: At University College London, advice has been circulated telling students to call emergency services if they develop headache, diarrhoea or vomiting within three weeks of arriving back in Britain
Last night the Health Secretary insisted Britain has 'robust' plans in place to cope with an Ebola outbreak, after a national emergency services exercise.
Jeremy Hunt insisted he was 'doubly reassured' that the Government and emergency services were ready if the disease reached the UK after an exercise to test how the authorities would respond.
The eight-hour mock-up saw actors simulate symptoms of the deadly virus while Government ministers joined dozens of medical professionals from hospitals, the ambulance service and Public Health England as they played through scenarios across the country.
In one case a person who collapsed in Gateshead shopping centre was placed in isolation at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle after being assessed.
Samples were sent for urgent testing at the Porton Down government science laboratories and returned an Ebola diagnosis.
In a separate case, a patient turned up to the Hillingdon walk-in centre in London with flu-like symptoms after having recently returned from West Africa.
Blood tests were again sent to Porton Down, Wiltshire, and the patient was diagnosed with the disease. Public Health England also began tracing the contacts of the people involved.
'Doubly reassured': Staff from North East Ambulance Service and the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle, take part in the nationwide simulation of an Ebola virus outbreak in Britain yesterday
'Doubly reassured': Staff from North East Ambulance Service and the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle, take part in the nationwide simulation of an Ebola virus outbreak in Britain yesterday
Mr Hunt chaired a simulated meeting of the emergency Cobra committee as part of the exercise.
He said: 'This is an extremely useful exercise and I feel doubly reassured that we have robust plans in place in the event that we get an Ebola case in the UK.
'We will evaluate what went well and what we need to improve.
'This exercise is just one small part of our ongoing contingency plans for Ebola. It builds on activity we routinely practise for a wide variety of illnesses and other emergencies.'
The number of deaths confirmed as a result of the current Ebola outbreak stands at 4,033, according to the World Health Organisation. Most were in Liberioa, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

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