New military medical team to help with Ebola in U.S.
WASHINGTON (KTRK) -- Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has ordered the military to prepare and train a 30-member medical support team that could provide short-term help to civilian health professionals if there are more Ebola cases in the United States.
His spokesman, Rear Adm. John Kirby, says the team drawn from across the military services will include 20 critical care nurses, five doctors trained in infectious diseases and five trainers in infectious disease protocols.
The team will go to Fort Sam Houston in Texas for training in infection control and special protective equipment. Training is expected to start within the next week.
Kirby says the team won't be sent to West Africa or elsewhere overseas. He says members will be called up for service in the U.S. only if needed by public health officials.
More from a US official:
- The majority of the 30 person team will come from the San Antonio, Texas area where Fort Sam Houston is located.
- After their training at Fort Sam Houston, the personnel will return to their home units for stand-by duty.
- The HHS requests that the team be ready no later than October 25. Once prepared the team would be ready to augment HHS/CDC operations within 72 hours of notification.
- HHS says that if needed the military personnel will not be requested to enforce quarantine measures.
The Associated Press and ABC News contributed to this report.
