OSHA publishes Ebola PPE ‘matrix’

Washington – A new OSHA fact sheet provides guidance on selecting personal protective equipment for workers who may be exposed to Ebola.

The fact sheet includes a personal protective equipment selection matrix based on existing guidance from OSHA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The matrix directs users to which types of PPE to wear based on certain work activities or potential exposures.

Most U.S. workers are unlikely to be exposed to anyone with Ebola. However, workers in the health care, mortuary, airline, cleaning or law enforcement industries face a higher exposure risk.

Ebola is a severe and often fatal illness spread from person to person via direct contact with bodily fluids, according to the World Health Organization. West Africa is in the midst of the largest Ebola outbreak since the disease’s discovery in 1976.