Zlín company plays key role in Ebola battle

Amidst growing concern over the Ebola outbreak in Africa, European governments and NGOs have been stepping up aid to the stricken states. One Czech company involved in efforts to battle the deadly disease is the Zlín based EGO, which provides special transport bags for infected patients. Ruth Fraňková reports:

Photo: archive of EGO Zlín

The EGO Zlín company specializes in the production of items for a complex biological protection system to be used in epidemics, bioterrorism and industrial disasters. The company has developed a unique bio-bag for the transportation of infected persons to the place of treatment. The head of the export department of Ego Zlín, Jitka Suchánková, described the special transportation bag called Biovak:

“The bio-bag is a special transport bag for infected patients, infected by some highly dangerous disease, such as Ebola. The bio-bag is equipped with a cockpit where you place the infected patient, the cockpit is equipped with special ventilation unit system which provides air circulation and air filtration to the patient inside. The air coming out of the bio-bag also runs through special filters.”

While the company usually sells on average ten bio-bags a year, with the outbreak of Ebola, the demand for the product has rapidly increased. The company now sells around twenty bio-bags a month, which is the maximum it can produce, and the demand is still much higher. Apart from the bio bags, the EGO Zlín company also produces other protective equipment:

Photo: archive of EGO Zlín

“Our company also produces special protective suits which work on the principle of positive pressure. They provide the highest level of protection for the medical staff because the filer-ventilation unit is sucking the air through two filters inside the head part. The protective suit is equipped with special hermetic zipper so the person inside is fully protected against infection and possible transmission. We also produce special isolation chambers designed for long-term medical treatment of infected persons.”

The EGO Zlín company does not sell directly to the African countries stricken by Ebola, although a lot of its products eventually get there through humanitarian aid. Most of the Biovaks from Zlín are currently exported to Europe and North America, which are taking preventive measures against an outbreak of the disease on their territory.