During the drill, healthcare and EMS workers donned appropriate personal protective equipment and followed strict protocols to protect against exposure to the simulated pathogen

The risk of Marburg virus coming to New York City is very low

New York, NY

NYC Health + Hospitals yesterday led a training exercise testing the health care system's ability to identify and isolate "patients" with simulated Marburg virus symptoms and safely transport them to NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue. Health care and EMS workers needed to wear hazmat suits and follow strict protocols to ensure their safety while handling the patients to prevent exposure to the pathogen. The Marburg virus, a cousin of the Ebola virus with a fatality rate as high as 80%, requires strict health and transport safety protocols in suspected patients. In the past year, there have been a small number of outbreaks of Marburg in Africa, including most recently in Tanzania and Equatorial Guinea this year. Both outbreaks have subsided. The risk of the Marburg virus coming to New York City is very low. The exercise was "no notice," meaning health care workers seeing the two simulated patients did not know it was a drill until they successfully isolated the patient and notified the NYC Health Department of the suspected Marburg-infected patient. The exercise was a coordinated effort between the health system, the Fire Department's Emergency Medical Services, the NYC Health Department, NYC Emergency Management, and the Office of Chief Medical Examiner.