Military bio-safety experts are headed to Liberia to staff a trio of mobile blood-testing laboratories that are a critical piece of the U.S. military operation to combat Ebola in western Africa,
The Wall Street Journal reports.
Teams of three or four trained service members will operate each mobile laboratory, and wear full-body protective gear while testing blood samples to prevent themselves from becoming infected with the deadly virus, the Journal reports.
"These mobile labs are very, very important, because, as you can imagine, some people have malaria, some people have the flu, and it’s really important to find out who you have to treat and who you don’t," Gen. David Rodriguez, head of U.S. Africa Command, told the Journal.
Rodriguez said that he is asking the Department of Defense for four more of the mobile laboratories, each of which can provide test results in 24 hours and process up to 100 samples a day.
The bio-threat experts are part of an estimated 4,000 U.S. service personnel being sent to western African countries where the latest Ebola outbreak began.
The World Health Organization reported Wednesday that the virus has killed 3,879 people since its re-emergence this year, and that "the situation in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone continues to deteriorate."
Ebola fatalities have now been identified in the United States and Spain — one in each country.
Most U.S. personnel in Liberia will be stationed away from people infected with the virus, either in tents or at the country's defense headquarters, and will observe a stepped-up disease prevention routine that includes multiple daily hand washings and health monitoring, Rodriguez told the Journal.
Troops will be also issued protective gloves and masks, and are receiving training on how to avoid infection if they encounter someone who might be carrying the disease, military officials told the Journal.
Precautionary measures will be even more comprehensive for personnel working in the mobile labs, Rodriguez said.
"When you go into one of these Ebola treatment units, you’re going to wash your hands and feet multiple times. You’re going to get your temperature taken, in and out," he said.
The laboratories are an add-on to the $750 million already budgeted by the Pentagon for the first six months of operations in Liberia, the Journal reported.
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