Fight Against Ebola Goes High-Tech In Md.
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The fight against Ebola has gone high-tech. Baltimore has actually been ground zero to test new technology.
Mary Bubala reports it's now being used to decontaminate hospital rooms in Dallas, where the first U.S. Ebola patient died and two nurses were infected.
Decontamination robots are being used at the Dallas hospital trying to contain the Ebola virus. They spray a hydrogen peroxide vapor that can kill viruses and other germs.
Several rooms at Texas Health Presbyterian were sealed off for the hour long decontamination, including the one where the first U.S. Ebola patient--Thomas Eric Duncan--was treated.
More: Dallas Nurse With Ebola Will Be Transferred To Md. Hospital
"We sterilized the suite of rooms that he was exposed in. Currently, this week, we are back down there working in the emergency rooms," said Ed Striefsky, BIOQUELL.
The robots, which cost more than $40,000 per pair, have been tested at Johns Hopkins Hospital since 2007. So far, they have disinfected more than 4,000 rooms at the hospital.
"When introducing to a sealed room, it will get in every nook and cranny in the room. And when it comes out of the saturation, it envelopes the bacteria that's in the room and kills it," said Striefsky.
The remote controlled robotic sterilization systems are also being used at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda. The company says the technology is a quick and safe way for hospitals to contain Ebola.
"We have been preparing for an outbreak such as this for the last three, four months," Striefsky said.
The bio-tech company that developed the robots says it uses chemical test strips that are taped to the wall to ensure contaminants have been eliminated and that it's safe to re-enter the room.
Johns Hopkins Hospital uses the robots in areas like the Intensive Care Unit.
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