Colorado begins Ebola monitoring for people traveling from certain African countries
An Ebola outbreak in Uganda has prompted health officials in the U.S. to be on the lookout for anyone traveling or returning to the United States from certain African countries.
There are no confirmed cases in the U.S. as of Wednesday, but officials are still urging caution and keeping an eye on people traveling from certain countries and regions.
In Colorado, health officials are tracking multiple people who recently arrived from high-risk areas, according to UCHealth.
The current Ebola outbreak is related to what's known as the "Sudan strain," but the virus is spreading in Uganda, UCHealth said. "It's worrisome because previous Ebola vaccines and treatments do not work against this strain, and the virus can kill as many as half of those who get it. Furthermore, Ebola now is spreading in Kampala, Uganda's capital, and a densely populated city of more than 1.3 million people.
"Mortality is high," said Dr. Michelle Barron, senior medical director of infection prevention and control for UCHealth. "Somewhere between 40 and 50% of people who get it die. So, this is not insignificant."
The average person in Colorado and the broader U.S. doesn't need to worry about Ebola.
"The likelihood of us seeing a patient is next to zero. But if we did, we have many trained people with a lot of experience to manage this appropriately," said Barron.
The last major Ebola outbreak occurred in 2014 and 2015, where about 27,000 people contracted it in west Africa, 11,000 of whom died. One person traveling to the U.S. at the time brought the virus with him and he died. 11 people in total contracted it in the U.S. at the time and two of them died.
"We can manage this because of all the training we did in 2015. That helped us prepare for COVID-19, and we just keep layering upon our expertise," Barron said.
The virus spreads in people through direct contact with bodily fluids like blood, saliva, semen or other bodily fluids, Barron said. It's not airborne or contracted by simple physical contact.
For more information, visit uchealth.org or cdphe.colorado.gov/diseases-a-to-z/ebola
