US Military to Train Ebola 'Strike Team'

Chuck Hagels orders creation of team for domestic Ebola cases
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Oct 19, 2014 1:27 PM CDT
US Military to Train Ebola 'Strike Team'
A burial team in protective gear bury the body of woman suspected to have died from Ebola virus in Monrovia, Liberia. Saturday, Oct, 18, 2014.    (AP Photo/Abbas Dulleh)

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 US, the Pentagon announced today. 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. (More Chuck Hagel stories.)

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