A novel personal protective equipment coverall rated higher than standard Ebola virus personal protective equipment in terms of comfort, mobility and perception of safety when tested by health care workers in Liberia and in a US biocontainment unit

Healthcare workers in Liberia and a US biocontainment unit compared standard Médecins Sans Frontière PPE (PPE A) with the new PPE (PPE B). Participants wore each PPE ensemble while performing simulated patient care activities. Range of motion, time to doff, comfort, and perceived risk were measured. Overall, 100% of participants preferred PPE B over PPE A (P < .0001); 98.1% of respondents would recommend PPE B for their home clinical unit (P < .0001). There was a trend towards greater comfort in PPEB. HCWs at both sites felt more at risk in PPE A than PPE B (71.9% vs 25% in Liberia, P < .0001; 100% vs 40% in the US biocontainment unit, P < .0001).

HCWs preferred a new PPE ensemble to Médecins Sans Frontière PPE for high-consequence pathogens. Further studies on the safety of this new PPE need to be conducted.