Texas Children’s to expand laboratory capabilities to test for Ebola on campus

November 11, 2014

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Texas Children’s Hospital is working hard to prepare its staff and its facilities for a patient with Ebola or a similar infectious disease.

Isolation units have been designated. PPE has been purchased. Staff is being trained on how to use it. And, leaders are meeting regularly to assess the organization’s preparedness as it relates to the most current information available.

Another initiative in the works will give the hospital the capability to test for the Ebola virus onsite instead of depending solely on lab results from state and federal government laboratories.

Dr. James Versalovic, who heads up the hospital’s pathology department, said he is in the process of purchasing equipment that will allow his staff to test for Ebola and similar infectious diseases at the main campus. Being able to test for such conditions at Texas Children’s Hospital will enable medical staff to quickly determine and provide appropriate care.

Currently, lab samples from suspected Ebola patients are sent to the Texas Public Health Department in Austin and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Georgia. Results are typically released within 72 hours. In the meantime, the patient is isolated and his or her symptoms are treated.

Versalovic said even with onsite diagnostic capabilities, lab samples from suspected Ebola patients still would be sent to the state and the CDC for confirmatory testing. Treatment, however, could be started sooner with the initial result in hand in hours compared with days. And, by ruling out Ebola more quickly in suspected patients, the correct diagnosis can be made more rapidly.

All onsite testing will be done at the main campus by a specialized team in a negative-pressure bio-containment laboratory. A similar unit is being planned for the west campus.

The goal is to have both labs ready and equipped to test for Ebola and other such diseases next year. The upgrades and additions will provide Texas Children’s with the best tools to diagnose and treat patients with infectious diseases, Versalovic said. The tools also will position the organization’s staff for effective patient care, optimal protection and safety.

 

Return to Ebola Response site.