John Vibes
As the Ebola outbreak in West Africa continues to spread, airport health checkpoints have been set up in Guinea, to help prevent the virus from spreading. There have already been two cases that were suspected to have left the country.
One Canadian man traveling from the area became infected and brought the virus home to Canada. When he was sick at a Canadian hospital, health officials insisted that there was nothing to be afraid of, and that his virus was not actually Ebola, but only an “Ebola-like” virus. However, the fact that this person was recently in an Ebola outbreak area is leaving many to wonder if this is a true Ebola case that is being downplayed by health officials.
Another case appeared in Minnesota, and passed through New York City, according to the CDC.
Preliminary information indicates that the patient flew from West Africa to New York City and caught another flight to Minneapolis. “Given what we know about how Lassa virus is spread to people, the risk to other travelers and members of the public is extremely low,” said Martin Cetron, M.D., M.P.H., director of CDC’s Division of Global Migration and Quarantine.
The doctors in Minnesota are still saying that the virus that this person was infected with was “Lassa fever” a different form of Hemorrhagic fever than Ebola, but given the area of the country that the passenger traveled from, many believe that this is a case of Ebola.
Some have even suggested that the strain of Ebola that is currently spreading across West Africa is airborne, creating the possibility of a greater epidemic.
According to the Associated Press, health officials in Guinea say all passengers departing from the capital city’s airport must fill out a health form and have their temperature taken as part of an effort to combat the spread of the deadly Ebola hemorrhagic fever.
Dr. Sakoba Keita, director of prevention at the health ministry, said anyone with a temperature higher than 38 degrees Celsius (100.4 degrees Fahrenheit) would be tested for the disease, which has killed 86 people in the West African nation since an outbreak began in February. French Health Minister Marisol Touraine said Saturday that French doctors from the Pasteur Institute would be on hand to watch boarding procedures at the airport in Conakry.
As the virus spreads local panic has increased. As we reported earlier this week, an angry crowd attacked an Ebola treatment center in Guinea on Friday, accusing its staff of bringing the deadly virus to the town.
