Written By: Shraddha Rupavate | Published : October 1, 2014 10:46 AM IST
The US CDC Tuesday confirmed the nation s first case of the deadly Ebola virus disease (EVD). Reportedly, the patient came from Liberia to Texas to meet his family members. Although he did not show any signs of Ebola while leaving West Africa, four days after reaching US he developed Ebola symptoms. He was immediately isolated in a hospital in Texas and his samples were sent to CDC laboratory. The results were confirmed positive on Tuesday.
There is a possibility that those who came in contact with the patient, including his family members and friends may have contacted the virus, which raises concerns about the spread of the disease at large in US. Although the CDC has assured that the virus won t be spreading beyond this, the possibility cannot be ignored and is bothering US citizens at present. But before panicking here are some facts you should know:
It s not a disaster:
It s true that the disease has killed thousands of people in West Africa and is still not under control, but you need to understand that with people travelling from one part of the world to another, it s not surprising that the virus has entered US.
Contact tracing already initiated
As far as the possibility of the patient s family members being infected is concerned, the US health authorities will be identifying each and every person who might have come in contact with the patient. Even if they are detected with the virus, the chances of them spreading it to others will be less if contact tracing is done quickly.
Health authorities confident about controlling it
In an official statement confirming the first Ebola positive case in US, Tom Frieden, director of the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) assured the citizens that the outbreak won t spread beyond that one patient. There is no doubt, in my mind, that we will stop it here. I have no doubt that we will control... this case of Ebola so it does not spread widely in this country, Frieden mentioned. Ebola can be scary. But there's all the difference in the world between the US and other parts of Africa where Ebola is spreading. We will certainly make sure this case does not threaten our communities, he assured.
US was well-prepared in advance to tackle Ebola
Not only does the United States have sufficient health resources, it also has a stringent isolation protocol in place to tackle additional cases, if any. US President Barack Obama and Frieden have discussed implementation of the protocols to mitigate the risk, according to the official statement. Besides, the healthcare system in US is strong, the infrastructure and facilities are in place and the public health professionals there are well-trained, which highlight preparedness of US for tackling Ebola.
With inputs from IANS
Photo source: Getty images
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