The director of the Centers for Disease Control said Wednesday he has no doubt the U.S. can stop the Ebola virus “in its tracks,” after officials revealed that a man in the Dallas area has the dreaded infection that’s ravaged West Africa.
Dr. Thomas Frieden said officials will retrace “every step” and instance in which the infected patient might have had direct physical contact with somebody after he became infectious, likely around Sept. 24.
“That’s how you stop an Ebola outbreak, that’s what we will do in this case,” he told CNN’s “New Day.” “There is no doubt in my mind that we can stop it in its tracks here.”
Citing health privacy laws, officials are saying little about the infected man who flew in from Liberia to visit family members in Texas.
“What we’ll do is make sure we get him any support and treatment that might help, if he and the family want it, and do everything possible to ensure that those caring for him minimize any risk they may have of getting infected,” Dr. Frieden said.
He said officials have been able to beat back the virus under much worse conditions abroad, citing recent progress in the Nigerian capital of Lagos.
The first U.S. case has put a spotlight on travel from West African countries such as Sierra Leone and Liberia. According to Dr. Frieden, every health worker in America has to start thinking about their patients’ travel histories.
“If someone’s been in West Africa within 21 days and they’ve got a fever, immediately isolate them and get them tested for Ebola,” he said.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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