The recent spread of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD or just Ebola) and Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) does not alarm Timothy Conley, director of the Medical Reserve Corps in Western Springs, as much as one would expect. Conley, who assists Emergency Medical Service responders when needed, helps the village with planning for medical catastrophes.

The two diseases have made large territorial gains, with Ebola reaching both North America and Europe within the last month and EV-D68 infecting people in every state except Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, and Arizona. Both diseases can be deadly. Ebola has a fatality rate around 70%, and EV-D68 can be life threatening to children and teenagers with asthma, other breathing issues, or suppressed immune systems, while causing temporary paralysis and respiratory issues for others. The Medical Reserve Corps has been preparing action plans should either of the diseases pose a threat to the area.

“We plan for everything,” Conley said. “If a problem gets worse, we just escalate the amount of resources allocated for it. We have been working on biological planning for a long time with the Cook County Board of Health.”

While EV-D68 was initially diagnosed in Chicago and its northern suburbs, it only recently has been identified in the western suburbs. The only three diagnosed Ebola cases in the United States are in Dallas.

In our local area, a fire engine is typically present on all ambulance calls to ensure adequate manpower. Charles Lichtenauer, a Western Springs firefighter, said that the fire department has also been receiving and following directives from the CDC, including limiting the number of first responders who come into contact with any sick victim and to use as much personal protective equipment as possible.

“On an ambulance call, we would wear our bunker pants,” Lichtenauer said, referring to the two layered clothes that protect wearers from both heat and biohazards, such as vomit or blood. “We wear rubber gloves to protect us from any of the wet stuff that might be bad, and, during flu season, we will sometimes go in with masks.”

The gear, if exposed to the extremely contagious Ebola virus, probably would not protect first responders from infection, according to the CDC. In Dallas, a nurse who was using full protective material, including a respirator and a protective suit, was infected in spite of her precautions.

“Some other way, that got in there, even though protective measures were taken,” Lichtenauer said. “We might not approach the victim at all if we don’t have the proper protection.”

At school, if someone did appear to have symptoms of either disease, the student would be isolated and the CDC and Public Health Department would be contacted, according to Julie Loftus, the South Campus school nurse.

“We would monitor calls from home from parents of sick students,” Loftus said. “We may isolate a sick student, and if he or she was coughing, we would give them a mask. We would have them not come to school.”

The school is following memoranda from the CDC, along with advice from the state, the Public Health Department, and other institutions.

“We would need to contain the cough if a student was sick,” Loftus said. “The most important thing is not to come to school if you think you may be sick, to prevent transition.”