Through a conference call, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updates Ebola virus guidelines and protocols.
(Frederick A. Murphy/CDC)
The two health-care workers from Dallas who were infected with the Ebola virus are now in stable condition, and the NBC reporter who was quarantined has been released from the hospital. That was among the news from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which tried to ease concerns and provided informational updates on the Ebola outbreaks during a conference call Oct. 23.
The two Dallas nurses were infected when attending to an Ebola-infected patient who eventually died. NBC reporter Nancy Snyderman had been in quarantine since returning from assignment in Liberia.
The 48 people who had been in contact with the now deceased Eric Duncan have cleared the 21-day incubation period, according to Kashef Ijaz, the principal deputy director for the Division of Global Health Protection in the CDC’s Center for Global Health.
There has been one new infection in the U.S. After the CDC's conference call, it was reported that a New York City doctor who had recently returned from Guinea tested positive for Ebola.
Ijaz reiterated on the call what the CDC has said throughout the period of unsettledness on the part of the public about Ebola. Namely that although the virus is very deadly it is not easily transmitted and would be difficult to catch from an object or on an airplane.
Ebola is spread through direct contact with broken skin or unprotected mucus membranes with a sick person’s blood or other bodily fluids such as saliva, semen, urine, feces, sweat or vomit. It can be spread through contaminated objects like needles or syringes or from the bodily fluids of infected animals or the meat of an infected animal. Pets like dogs and cats are not likely to get it.
Ijaz said it is unlikely that the virus could be spread through currency, but warned that currency isn’t sterile and people should wash their hands frequently with soap or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer when handling it.
Ijaz announced new monitoring of travelers that will begin Oct. 27 in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Georgia, New Jersey and Virginia. Travelers from Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea arriving in those states will undergo post-arrival monitoring. That will consist of reporting a temperature reading in the morning and afternoon and any presence of Ebola symptoms, such as fever, headache, vomiting, bleeding and joint and muscle aches. They will also be provided a care kit, containing a tracking log for symptoms, a thermometer, contact information and other guidance about the virus.
The CDC has convened rapid response teams that are ready to deploy to any hospital, and the Department of Defense is training a 30-person response team, which will be designed to deploy nationally in case of a new diagnosis of Ebola. The CDC says that if someone is suspected of possibly having the Ebola virus the local health department should be notified immediately.
So far the U.S. has spent $345 million in humanitarian assistance to help control the spread of the virus. That has enabled the U.S. to deploy more than 750 people to affected countries. The pipeline of medical equipment has included more than 200 tons of supplies and equipment airlifted to affected locations.
As of Oct. 22, there have been 9,901 cases of Ebola in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea and 4,865 deaths. It’s the largest Ebola outbreak and first epidemic of the virus.
This article was updated Oct. 24 to reflect information about the Ebola case in New York.
The two Dallas nurses were infected when attending to an Ebola-infected patient who eventually died. NBC reporter Nancy Snyderman had been in quarantine since returning from assignment in Liberia.
The 48 people who had been in contact with the now deceased Eric Duncan have cleared the 21-day incubation period, according to Kashef Ijaz, the principal deputy director for the Division of Global Health Protection in the CDC’s Center for Global Health.
There has been one new infection in the U.S. After the CDC's conference call, it was reported that a New York City doctor who had recently returned from Guinea tested positive for Ebola.
Ijaz reiterated on the call what the CDC has said throughout the period of unsettledness on the part of the public about Ebola. Namely that although the virus is very deadly it is not easily transmitted and would be difficult to catch from an object or on an airplane.
Ebola is spread through direct contact with broken skin or unprotected mucus membranes with a sick person’s blood or other bodily fluids such as saliva, semen, urine, feces, sweat or vomit. It can be spread through contaminated objects like needles or syringes or from the bodily fluids of infected animals or the meat of an infected animal. Pets like dogs and cats are not likely to get it.
Ijaz said it is unlikely that the virus could be spread through currency, but warned that currency isn’t sterile and people should wash their hands frequently with soap or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer when handling it.
Ijaz announced new monitoring of travelers that will begin Oct. 27 in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Georgia, New Jersey and Virginia. Travelers from Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea arriving in those states will undergo post-arrival monitoring. That will consist of reporting a temperature reading in the morning and afternoon and any presence of Ebola symptoms, such as fever, headache, vomiting, bleeding and joint and muscle aches. They will also be provided a care kit, containing a tracking log for symptoms, a thermometer, contact information and other guidance about the virus.
The CDC has convened rapid response teams that are ready to deploy to any hospital, and the Department of Defense is training a 30-person response team, which will be designed to deploy nationally in case of a new diagnosis of Ebola. The CDC says that if someone is suspected of possibly having the Ebola virus the local health department should be notified immediately.
So far the U.S. has spent $345 million in humanitarian assistance to help control the spread of the virus. That has enabled the U.S. to deploy more than 750 people to affected countries. The pipeline of medical equipment has included more than 200 tons of supplies and equipment airlifted to affected locations.
As of Oct. 22, there have been 9,901 cases of Ebola in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea and 4,865 deaths. It’s the largest Ebola outbreak and first epidemic of the virus.
This article was updated Oct. 24 to reflect information about the Ebola case in New York.
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