Mercer County Officials Discuss Response to Enterovirus, Ebola

About 60 county and local elected officials, state, county and local health officials and representatives from law enforcement, emergency communications and emergency medical services came together for an informational session about Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) and Ebola virus disease at the Dempster Fire Training Academy on Thursday.

They also discussed preparedness and response in Mercer County.

“It’s essential that we have communication between departments – EMS, police, fire, local nonprofits,” Mercer County Executive Brian M. Hughes said. “If we don’t have communication working between all of us, we may be in real, real trouble.”

County officials announced they planned to form a countywide public health interagency committee that would meet and review guidelines disseminated by the New Jersey Department of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other partners to plan a coordinated response to potential infectious disease outbreaks.

Members of an eight-person panel presented overviews and updates on EV-D68 and Ebola, including lessons learned by Hamilton and Princeton health officers during recent EV-D68 and Ebola-related cases.

Also covered were protocols for handling 911 calls when a patient fits the profile of someone infected with Ebola; an update on EMS and hospital protocols by Capital Health Systems officials; and the need for law enforcement to be prepared to play a critical role as first responders in suspected Ebola cases.

The Oct. 23 meeting was a follow-up to an Aug. 27 session pertaining to Ebola that the county administration held to raise awareness and promote countywide communication among health officials, first responders and other stakeholders. Regular and special meetings involving county and local health officials were held in the interim.