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Written By: Editorial Team | Published : October 22, 2014 4:22 PM IST
The US has restricted the entry of passengers from the three Ebola-stricken West African nations to five major airports conducting enhanced screening for the virus, safeguarding its citizens from the epidemic. The US Department of Homeland Security yesterday announced the restrictions on the passengers whose trips originated in Liberia, Sierra Leone or Guinea.
From today, such travellers are required to fly into one of five major airports include at New York's John F Kennedy, New Jersey's Newark, Washington Dulles, Atlanta, and Chicago's O'Hare international airports, where strict screening systems have been put in place. 'Today, I am announcing that all passengers arriving in the United States whose travel originates in Liberia, Sierra Leone or Guinea will be required to fly into one of the five airports that have the enhanced screening and additional resources in place,' Jeh Johnson, Secretary of Homeland Security, said. (Read: What is the Ebola virus disease survival rate?)
'We are working closely with the airlines to implement these restrictions with minimal travel disruption. 'If not already handled by the airlines, the few impacted travellers should contact the airlines for rebooking, as needed,' he said. These five airports handle 94 per cent of travellers from Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, where more than 4,000 people have died of the devastating virus. (Read: Ebola virus is mutating rapidly say scientists)
'At present there are no direct, non-stop commercial flights from Liberia, Sierra Leone or Guinea to any airport in the United States,' he said, adding that the US has measures to identify and screen anyone at every single entry point who has been present in the three West African nations. US President Barack Obama has pushed his national security team to determine if additional travel restrictions could be put in place that would make the American public more safe, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said. (Read: 10 reasons that make the Ebola virus deadly for humans)
Meanwhile, Indian-American Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal signed an executive order requiring that state officials monitor travel to and from the three Ebola-hit countries. He is very critical of the Obama Administration's response to the deadly virus, alleging 'nothing can match the horror of watching our government's bumbling and ineffective response to this serious public health crisis.'
How the Ebola virus spreads in humans?
It spreads through infected body fluids: Ebola spreads from one infected person to the other through direct contact of the skin and other bodily fluids. The virus is present in the body fluids of an infected person which includes blood, semen, sweat, urine, saliva, feaces, vomit, etc. If a healthy person comes in contact with the infected body fluids that enters his system through open wounds, blood transfusions or through the eyes, ears, mouth, nostrils, genital area, it can infect an individual within a span of two to 21 days depending on the severity of the viral attack. Having unsafe sex with an infected person also can lead to the viral infection.
It can spread through direct skin to skin contact: One major reason why healthcare workers and immediate family members of infected Ebola victims were falling prey to the same in the infected areas is due to direct skin to skin contact with the patients. This is because the virus can be easily transmitted through an exchange of bodily fluids like sweat, saliva, etc. However, remember the virus would not spread only through casual contact. There has to be a medium for the transmission to take place and in case of a skin-to-skin contact it is either sweat, saliva, blood or other body fluids. It is advisable to take proper precautions if you need to be around a victim at any given point of time. Using protective equipment like gloves, masks and protective units is recommended to prevent the virus from spreading to a healthy individual.
It can spread by using infected needles and other contaminated objects: This is obvious as infected needles and other contaminated objects might have remnants of infected body fluids. If this gets into the system of a healthy individual, it can spread the deadly disease rapidly. Read more about How the Ebola virus spreads in humans
With inputs from PTI
Photo source: Getty images
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