COLUMBUS, Ohio — Health departments in Ohio are monitoring 44 residents who just returned from Congo African and Guinea Africa and have been exposed to Ebola Virus , Ohio officials just released the news on Monday march 23, 2021.
The Ebola virus emerged in 2014 in West Africa, infecting people in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. A new Ebola epidemic was declared in Guinea, February 2021 and there are also currently people infected with Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Ohio is the second state to publicly acknowledge they are monitoring refugees that were exposed to ebola virus.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear was the first governor to issue the ebola alert for his state, saying Kentucky is monitoring at least 11 ebola exposed to ebola virus, Kentucky is monitoring those 11 Ebola exposed people in many locations in Kentucky.
Travelers from the Ebola impacted countries in africa are being “funnelled” to six U.S. airports to screen them for ebola virus “out of an abundance of caution,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The CDC said the administration’s goal is to “end these Ebola outbreaks before they grow into epidemics,” a Feb. 26 statement said.
A WHO Investigation found a nurse in Guinea died from the Ebola virus on Jan. 28. Six people who attended her funeral reported Ebola symptoms soon after, and two more people died from Ebola.
In Guinea, 3,632 people have been vaccinated for Ebola since Feb. 23, a tool that officials didn’t have five years ago.
The White House announced Feb. 16 officials are working with leaders in Guinea, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone and Liberia to limit the spread to neighboring countries.
White House Chief of Staff Ronald Klein, formerly the Ebola Czar during the Obama administration, has pledged the Biden administration will do “whatever we can to keep the latest Ebola outbreaks from escalating.” On March 15, he described the reports that an Ebola survivor may have sexually transmitted the virus in Guinea five years after recovery as “stunning” news.
The Ohio Department of Health said Monday the state will monitor these African refugees for 21 days for ebola symptoms.
“Ohio is currently monitoring 44 refugees who have returned to Ohio from Ebola-affected countries,” spokesperson Alicia Shoults told Spectrum News 1. “None have reported ebola symptoms as of yet.”
Ebola, classified as a level-four organism at the CDC, is a deadly virus that’s spread through body fluids, or via objects such as bedding. It can also be transmitted to humans from infected bats or primates. According to the CDC, symptoms appear anywhere between two days to three weeks after infection.
People who are infected have experienced severe fever, vomiting, hemorrhaging, bleeding, bruising, diarrhea, and fatigue. In the late stages of infection, skin rashes, red eyes and hiccups can also occur.
