CDC: Very low risk for Ebola spread in United States

Ebola virus poses very little risk to the general United States population, and the likelihood of the outbreak in West Africa spreading outside of that region is very low, according to the CDC.

Two American health care workers in Liberia have been infected with Ebola, CDC reported, and both are in isolation and receiving treatment. Since the first Ebola case surfaced in March, there have been 1,201 reported cases and 673 deaths in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The CDC has issued a Level 2 travel notice for these countries.

The Ministry of Health in Nigeria confirmed that a man in Lagos, the country’s capital, died of Ebola after being in isolation in the hospital since arriving at the Lagos airport from Liberia. Health authorities are now investigating whether other passengers or crew on the plane are at risk for infection.

“This is the largest Ebola outbreak in history and the first in Africa,” Stephan Monroe, PhD, deputy director of CDC’s National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, said during a media briefing. “It’s a rapidly changing situation and we expect that there will be more cases in these countries in the coming weeks. The response to this outbreak will be more of a marathon rather than a sprint.”

Monroe said Ebola transmission is through direct contact with bodily fluid of an infected person or exposure to contaminated objects such as needles. Individuals who are not symptomatic are not contagious. Although it is possible someone could become infected and travel from West Africa to the United States, it is unlikely that the disease will spread to other passengers because it is spread through direct contact.

Nevertheless, Monroe said the CDC is sending a Health Alert Network notice to remind health care providers of the importance of taking steps to prevent the spread of illness, including: taking travel history to identify travel to West Africa within the past 3 weeks; knowing the symptoms of Ebola, which include fever, headache, joint and muscle aches, weakness, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain and lack of appetite; and knowing what to do when patients have Ebola symptoms, including isolating the patient and implementing infection control precautions.