Another UN staff tests positive for Ebola – U.S. to install quarantine stations in 5 airports

October 2014 – HEALTH – The UN Secretary-General’s spokesperson, Stephane DuJarric, on Wednesday, confirmed that an international member of staff who works for UN Mission in Liberia, UNMIL, tested positive for Ebola Virus Disease, EVD. Mr. DuJarric confirmed this while briefing UN Correspondents on Wednesday in New York. He said “this is the second case of Ebola in the mission. “An earlier probable case resulted in the death of a staff member on September 25. “The Mission has, therefore, taken all the necessary measures to prevent possible further transmission within or outside the mission. “In line with World Health Organization (WHO) protocols, the UNMIL Medical team has conducted immediate and robust contact tracing to ensure that all the people that came in contact with staff members if they were symptomatic are assessed and such staff quarantined. “All UNMIL staff considered at risk have been isolated and ambulances and other locations decontaminated,” he told reporters. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the Head of UNMIL, Karin Landgren, had announced early on Wednesday that an international staff member tested positive for Ebola. WHO said that the total number of cases in the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa now stood at 7,178, with 3,338 reported deaths. Liberia alone recorded 2,210 deaths from Ebola as at Oct. 4, the government said. –Premium Times

Quarantine stations at 5 US airports: One person has come to the United States and come down with Ebola here. Authorities want to keep it that way. To that end, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Wednesday beefed-up measures at five of America’s biggest, busiest airports aimed at preventing the deadly virus’ further spread. While talk about preventing Ebola’s spread abounds everywhere from coffee shops to TV news, this intervention won’t affect a lot of people. It applies only to about 150 people a day, by CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden’s estimate, arriving in the United States after having recently traveled from Ebolva-ravaged West African nations of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. These travelers will get special treatment, including having their temperature taken and answering questions about whether they’ve been exposed to anyone with Ebola. The idea is to stop anyone with warning signs from getting past the airport gates, and into the U.S. public, before they can possibly spread the virus any further. But, Frieden cautioned, this isn’t some sort of magic solution.

U.S. officials will likely discover some people have fevers or have had contacts with Ebola sufferers, only to find out they don’t have the virus. Someone can still unknowingly come to the United States and show no signs of it, since it can take up to 21 days for someone to feel sick. Plus, there are more ways than ever for people to cross communities, cross borders, cross oceans and spread a virus like Ebola. “We are stepping up protection for people, (and) we will continuously look at ways that we can increase the safety of Americans,” Frieden told reporters. “(But) whatever we do can’t get the risk to zero here in the interconnected world that we live in today.” –WTSP