> Health workers take blood samples for Ebola virus testing at a screening tent in the local government hospital in Kenema, Sierra Leone, June 30, 2014.
Ebola is generally transferred through bodily fluids so being careful and covering skin is good enough most of the time. Keep in mind that a lot of these outbreaks happen in poor rural Africa. Some of the earlier outbreaks were made worse by the clinics being so low budget and reusing needles.
The videos from the early days of Ebola and Marburg are quite remarkable. There is one that I recall of a group of young doctors wearing face masks and purple nitrile gloves, and being very delicate removing those nitrile gloves.
I don't know if that would pass JCAHO muster, much less protect one from Ebola. Cavalier is one way to put it, but I think the biggest issue is resource constraint.
Still, a full "remediation" suit (for dealing with old remodels or crawlspaces) including very fine vapor mask, very thick gloves and a full-body coverall can be had from 3M for ... $80 or so ?
I cleaned out a hayloft of our barn recently with far more protection (hanta virus) than what is being described here.
Who can I mail some 10-packs of 3M protective gear to ?
You aren't really ignorant and entitled enough to think a doctor in an impoverished clinic in sub-Saharan Africa has the money for all the basic supplies they need, much less a positive pressure environment suit, are you?
The picture shows someone in the most primitive surgical gown, covered in blood, with exposed skin.
Is that just a stock photo ? It seems awfully cavalier...