40. Building an incinerator for medical waste

Overview 

• In some epidemics, you will need to prevent germs on items (such as bed sheets and clothes that have been contaminated by the patient’s body fluids) from spreading to other people. 
• This is especially important when you are dealing with Ebola, Marburg fever, Lassa fever, plague and monkeypox. 
• An incinerator can burn such items and prevent the disease from spreading to others. 
• Do not incinerate items yourself if an alternative is available, such as incineration in health facilities. 
• Be very careful when building and using incinerators, because they can be dangerous. Always have to hand something to put the fire out (for example, a bucket of water or sand).