Ebola in US: Mandatory Ebola quarantine guidelines for health workers changed

By: Editorial Team | | Updated: October 27, 2014 5:30 pm

Amid criticism of his decision of a mandatory 21-day Ebola quarantine, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has loosened some of the restrictions on people returning to the US from West Africa.

Cumomo released new guidelines for screening procedures for Ebola at JFK International Airport after White House officials and health experts strongly criticised the mandatory quarantine which was put in place after a doctor, Craig Spencer, tested positive for Ebola after arriving from Guinea.

Under the new guidelines, if a person arrives and had direct contact with people infected with the Ebola virus but is asymptomatic, they will be transported by private vehicle, arranged by the New York State Department of Health or local health department, to their homes where they will be quarantined for 21 days.

Under quarantine, at least two unannounced visits by local officials will be made each day to check the individual?s condition as well as ensure that the individual is complying with the quarantine order. If a person arrives and has symptoms of the Ebola virus, they will be transported to one of the New York City hospitals designated by the State to treat Ebola patients for further evaluation and treatment.

Cuomo said those adults who meet New York?s criteria for quarantine, would be provided financial assistance for 21 days by the state. Cuomo had initially criticized Spencer for not obeying a 21-day voluntary quarantine but later called the health care workers “heroes” and said his administration would encourage more medical workers to volunteer to fight Ebola.

The mandatory quarantine policy came in for more criticism after a Maine nurse returning from Sierra Leone criticized her treatment as the first person to be quarantined under New Jersey’s new policy, saying that she was treated “like a criminal.”

Kaci Hickox has tested negative for Ebola in a preliminary evaluation. Fox News quoted Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, as saying that the 21-day quarantines originally imposed in Florida, Illinois, New Jersey and New York can have the “unintended consequence” of discouraging health care workers from volunteering, particularly in the West African countries, where an estimated 4,500 people have so far this year died from Ebola. Also Read - Ganesh Chaturthi 2020: 4 reasons an eco-friendly Ganesha is good for you

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Here are a few reasons why Ebola is so deadly: Also Read - Weight loss diet: How to eat healthy in a restaurant when you want to lose weight

It can kill within seven days: Unlike other viruses (like HIV) that can remain dormant in a person for years without causing the disease, Ebola violently multiplies until the viral particles are amplified to about 100 million viral particles in a droplet of blood. Further, without resting in a dormant stage the virus kills the host to find a new one. The fatality rate of the disease is 60 percent.

There is no vaccine or treatment available: What makes this virus deadly is the fact that researchers have not been able to find an effective treatment or preventive technique to combat the virus and the spread of the disease. The experimental drug Zmapp has shown promising results but the safety and efficacy of the drug are to be evaluated. So, as of now, neither do we have an effective form of therapy nor do we have a vaccine to prevent the disease.

Attacks every part of the human body: Ebola only needs a host cell that can help it produce multiple copies of itself. What worsens the condition is the fact that the virus does not need a specific type of cell to multiply (unlike other deadly diseases). According to studies, except for skeletal muscles and bones, the virus is known to infect every part of the human body. Connective tissues, the ones that hold your internal organs in place, are primary targets of the virus.

With inputs from PTI

Photo source: Getty images

Published : October 27, 2014 5:09 pm | Updated:October 27, 2014 5:30 pm

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