Two more health workers have been brought back to the United States for monitoring after being potentially exposed to Ebola. A colleague of the two is being treated for the virus after participating in efforts to curb the outbreak in West Africa.
The two were flown in from Sierra Leone Wednesday, their arrival bringing the total number of Americans repatriated since last week to 18, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Agency spokesperson Jennifer McQuiston said the two health workers are part of the same group that arrived in the country earlier.
While the two health workers have not tested positive for Ebola infections, they will remain under observation given they have been in close proximity with a colleague who tested positive. They should be allowed to go home after the 21-day monitoring period.
"As a result of CDC's ongoing investigation, CDC and the State Department are facilitating the return of additional American citizens who had potential exposure to the index patient or exposures similar to those that resulted in the infection of the index patient," said the agency last week in a statement as the first batch of health workers arrived.
The infected health worker is receiving treatment in a biocontainment unit in Maryland managed by the National Institutes of Health. The CDC has not given word yet on how the health worker was able to contract the virus.
Other health workers from the group that returned from Sierra Leone are under observation in different locations. Some are also in Maryland while others are in Nebraska and Atlanta. Many of the health workers work for Partners in Health, an aid group. The CDC has also not released the names of health workers under observation.
As of Mar. 15, Sierra Leone has recorded 194 cases in the last 21 days. Guinea has 204 while Liberia has none. Since the outbreak began, however, Sierra Leone has had 11,751 cases, Guinea 3,389 and Liberia 9,526. All over the world, more than 24,000 cases of infections have been reported.
While the outbreak has slowed down, it is still a threat, most especially in the countries hardest hit in West Africa. It started early 2014 and has since then affected thousands of lives in the region. In Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia alone, over 10,000 people have died due to Ebola. A vaccine against the virus has still not been developed but clinical trials are underway and have produced generally positive results.
Photo: CDC Global | Flickr
