United States Of America : DuPont to unveil garment & help protect people from Ebola

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DuPont to unveil garment & help protect people from Ebola

29
Sep '15

C: Will Kirk / Homewoodphoto.jhu.edu

DuPont will commercialise a garment it developed in partnership with the Johns Hopkins University to help protect people on the front lines of the Ebola crisis and future deadly infectious disease outbreaks.

“DuPont expects to have the first of these garments available in the marketplace during the first half of 2016,” a press release from Johns Hopkins University stated.

The collaboration between the university and DuPont began in response to the humanitarian need identified by the USAID during the recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

In December, the USAID selected the new Johns Hopkins prototype protective garment, made of an advanced DuPont material, as one of the first five projects to receive funding to address the healthcare challenge posed by Ebola.

The prototype garment was developed by the Johns Hopkins Center for Bioengineering Innovation and Design (CBID), with input from global health partner, Jhpiego, a Johns Hopkins affiliate.

Incorporating some elements from the Johns Hopkins prototype, the garment design from DuPont will feature a rear zipper and a "cocoon-style" removal, or doffing, process that requires far fewer steps to reduce risk.

“The DuPont garment may include an integrated hood with a large clear visor,” the press release added.

"This collaboration brings together the ingenuity of Johns Hopkins, healthcare experience of Jhpiego, and industrial innovations of DuPont to help save lives worldwide," said Youseph Yazdi, executive director of CBID.

“Although this project was triggered by the recent Ebola outbreak, we believe the improved protective suit's design will be impactful in future infectious disease outbreaks as well," Yazdi observed.

Marc Doyle, senior vice president DuPont Safety & Protection too added, "We look forward to the next step of making this protective apparel solution available where it is needed for both emergency response and preparedness."

Jhpiego will field-test the DuPont prototype garment in Liberia, one of the three African countries hit hardest by the recent Ebola outbreak and where Jhpiego has experience in health systems training.

“The new garment will help ensure that frontline health workers can respond safely and with confidence to any new infectious disease outbreak,” Leslie Mancuso, president and CEO of Jhpiego also stated.

"The response of Johns Hopkins, Jhpiego, and DuPont to the humanitarian challenge offers a model of the ingenuity and dedication of the public and private sector to improve global health," Mancuso informed. (AR)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India

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