Fifty health workers took part in the course - organized by the Institute of Specialization and Training in Aeronautical and Space Medicine of the Air Service of the Italian Air Force, among the leading international air forces in the field of air transport in bio-containment - military and civilians, the latter coming from different regions of Italy based on a rate of places made available by the Ministry of Health.
The activity is part of a series of meetings, courses and conferences on the subject that the Air Force has long initiated upon request and in collaboration with the Department of Public Health and Innovation of the Ministry of Health and which also saw the participation of belonging to foreign air forces.
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The course program, in addition to hints of a theoretical nature on the concept of bio-containment and on the methods of transmission of highly infectious diseases, had a highly practical connotation, with the aim of sharing the operational and training experiences gained by the Air Force in the last decade in the sector, in particular the two recent experiences for the two real cases of Ebola from Sierra Leone and Sardinia. Another fundamental objective is to standardize the procedures related to the management of highly infectious emerging diseases, with particular reference in the specific case to procedures in the airport environment. During the two days of field activities in Pratica di Mare, Wednesday 27 and Thursday 28 May, simulations were carried out for the establishment of a sanitary cordon in the airport area and for emergency transfer with special aviation-transportable isolators for highly contagious patients.
Many of the members of the bio-containment team of the Air Force who took part in the transport missions of the two Italian Emergency workers infected with the Ebola virus were the instructors who provided their colleagues in other Armed Forces and other administrations with technical knowledge. and the procedures for the use of isolated transport systems supplied to Italy, special negative pressure stretchers that allow the transport and management of patients in total safety during the flight.
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The Air Force has developed this air-medical evacuation capacity since the 2005, through the acquisition of special systems called ATI - Aircraft Transit Isolators (of British patent). The capacity of air transport in bio-containment is a military capacity, available for civil use and purposes. It was, in fact, developed by the Air Force in coordination with both the Ministry of Health and with the Civil Protection, responsible for the patient's land transport and the management of national emergency health operations. The personnel in charge of the bio-containment transport activities ensures an on-call service that allows, at any time - 24 hours on 24, 365 days per year - to start the procedure very quickly. The aerial isolation unit that can be used for a sanitary evacuation in bio-containment consists of a number of specialists that can vary depending on the type of aircraft used and the type and level of threat present.
Source: AM - General Office for Communication
