While President Obama said in a video message released Thursday that Ebola cannot be contracted through casual contact “like sitting next to someone on a bus,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advised Americans with symptoms of the disease traveling in or arriving home from Ebola-stricken nations to “avoid public transportation.”
As CNSNews.com reports, Obama spoke in a video message to West African citizens whose countries are experiencing a severe outbreak of the deadly disease, instructing them in how to avoid it and the circumstances under which they can become infected.
“First, Ebola is not spread through the air like the flu,” Obama said. “You cannot get it through casual contact like sitting next to someone on a bus. You cannot get it from another person until they start showing symptoms of the disease, like fever.”
In its online recommendations, last updated October 7, the CDC said that it is urging individuals returning to the United States after traveling in West Africa to monitor their health for three weeks and “limit contact with other people” and “avoid public transportation” if they experience a fever or other symptoms of the disease, including “severe headache, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, or unexplained bleeding or bruising.”
“If you have symptoms of Ebola or have been exposed to Ebola – even if you are not sick – you will not be allowed to travel on commercial planes, buses, trains, or ships,” says CDC.
Additionally, CDC urges American travelers to Ebola-stricken countries who may become symptomatic to “limit your contact with other people when you travel to the doctor. Do not travel anywhere else.”
According to the CDC, as of Friday, there are 8,376 total cases of Ebola reported in West Africa, 4,633 laboratory-confirmed cases, and 4.024 deaths associated with the deadly illness.
The United States, Senegal, and Spain each has had one “travel-associated case of Ebola,” with the only death associated with these being in the U.S.
Nigeria has had 20 cases of Ebola and eight deaths associated with the disease.
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