Health officials and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are ensuring that there will be a more strict and hyped security and screening for Ebola patients in five airports in the country. This is related to the first U.S. case of Ebola two weeks ago. Thomas Eric Duncan lied in his health form and travelled to the United States, he died weeks after with Ebola Virus Disease.
In partnership with the Department of Homeland Security's Customs & Border Protection (CBP), they will see to it that new measures will be implemented to be able to properly and appropriately screen travellers especially from Ebola-stricken countries like Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Five airports are going to impose the measures and screening which receives almost 94% of all entries to the country.
According to the CDC Director, Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H., they believe that the new measures will protect the health of Americans. They are sending additional CDC personnel to the airports included in the implementation of beefed up protocols.
Meanwhile, according to TIME Magazine, President Barack Obama said that other countries should step up in controlling and addressing this outbreak that killed thousands of lives. Up-to-date, statistics from the CDC and World Health Organization says that the Ebola Virus Disease have incurred 8,998 suspected cases and 4,493 deaths.
These measures will eventually help the government halt the entrance of possible carriers of the virus into the country. However, the long incubation period of the disease hinders the heath officials to properly group patients. It will take about 21 days before symptoms manifest and during this time only will a person be infectious.
Many countries are tightening control of the spread of the disease by screening arrivals in their airports especially if the passengers came from countries with Ebola virus cases. They are also warning the public to practice measures to prevent the disease.
