Ebola Virus Disease
The ongoing Ebola epidemic in West Africa that started last year is the largest in history, and continues to affect the countries of Guinea and Sierra Leone. Liberia was declared free from Ebola virus transmission by the World Health Organization on May 9, 2015. In the US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has not declared Liberia Ebola free, but classifies Liberia as a country with former widespread transmission and current, established control measures. Effective June 17, 2015, the CDC changed its monitoring procedure for Liberian travelers from public health active monitoring to traveler self monitoring. Travelers from Liberia will continue to be screened in the 5 east coast airports they must pass through to enter the US. CDC will continue to notify California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and local health departments of travelers arriving in our jurisdictions for informational purposes. Alameda County is no longer actively monitoring travelers from Liberia.
CDC, CDPH, and Alameda County Public Health Department recommends that healthcare providers:
- Should conduct thorough histories that include: health status, travel, and exposures.
- Should assess travel history for any possible infectious disease exposures (e.g., MERS-CoV, malaria) and not focused only on Ebola-affected countries.
- Should use clinical judgment to evaluate patients based on those histories and their symptoms.
- Should implement infection control measures as appropriate to travel history and clinical presentation.
- Follow standard protocols for patient care (e.g., medical equipment and procedures, infection control, laboratory testing)
- If the patient reports travel from Liberia and no travel into Guinea and Sierra Leone – no Ebola-specific precautions are required.
- Should continue to report suspect cases of any potential high risk infectious disease to Alameda County Public Health Department Acute Communicable Disease at 510-267-3250.