Medical personnel wearing PPE are lifted to the entrance of a cargo jet with a portable biocontainment unit as part of a training exercise at Dulles Airport on Wednesday. Photo: Tina Reed/Axios
Federal officials and health workers are practicing a deadly disease response this week at Washington Dulles International Airport, using a new portable biocontainment unit and a Boeing 747 to simulate the transfer of four patients with an unknown condition between Toronto and D.C.-area hospitals.
The big picture: The Ebola outbreak underscored the importance of isolating and repatriating Americans with lethal viruses from hot zones, and transporting them between specially equipped hospitals, John Knox, principal deputy assistant secretary at HHS, told Axios.
The unit is essentially a movable hospital room that can transport up to 10 patients at a time and be converted into ER use with features such as negative pressure, Knox said.
Dozens of federal, international and local agencies are taking part in the drills, which featured ambulances waiting on the apron to safely transport the patients.
"We live in an era of emerging diseases with global travel," Knox said. "This really bolsters national security."
