Staff at the Royal Melbourne Hospital have been running drills to prepare for an Ebola case in the unlikely event the frightening disease reaches Victoria.
The hospital has isolation rooms and protective equipment ready for trained staff to treat patients suspected of carrying the fatal virus, which is rapidly spreading in West Africa.
The Age understands leading infectious disease experts at the Royal Melbourne are on standby for a case and that if the hospital receives any, specialist staff would have to enter and exit treatment areas through shower rooms and all laboratory clothing and material would be decontaminated to prevent its spread.
A spokeswoman for the hospital confirmed it had been appointed the state’s “receiving centre” in the unlikely event that a patient does present with a suspected case of Ebola.