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Four people in Oregon are being watched for the Ebola virus after traveling to countries in West Africa that have outbreaks of the disease, public health officials said Thursday.
The Oregon Health Authority has contacted everyone who visited Guinea and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and considers them “people under surveillance,” the agency said in a statement.
All arrived in Oregon from affected countries earlier this month, officials said, adding that the risk to others in the state was low.
“We want to make sure these people get the support they need to monitor their health, stay in touch with public health officials, and get safe help with medical services when needed,” Richard Leman, chief medical officer for state health security. , preparation and response, said in a statement.
Leman stressed that, unlike the coronavirus, people without symptoms cannot transmit the Ebola virus and none of those monitored showed signs of the disease.
He also said Oregon had successfully implemented surveillance programs during the recent Ebola outbreaks.
“We had to do this before,” he said. “These approaches that we are using have been successful in these cases and we have never had a case of Ebola in Oregon.”
Guinea reported 18 Ebola cases and nine deaths on Wednesday. The epidemic is centered in the southern region of the country. The Democratic Republic of the Congo has recorded 12 cases and six deaths in the east of the country, near the border with Uganda.
The outbreaks were limited to small areas in both countries and did not affect large population centers.
Still, the Centers for Disease Control has issued warnings for both countries and told people to avoid unnecessary travel.
Public health officials said they were in contact with community organizations in Oregon to provide assistance to those being monitored in the state.
– Kale Williams; [email protected]; 503-294-4048; @sfkale
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