Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Ebola Worries Prompt US To Screen All Travelers From Uganda
Politico: U.S. Will Divert Travelers Who Have Been To Uganda To 5 Airports As Ebola Outbreak Worsens
The Biden administration will reroute passengers coming to the U.S. who have been in Uganda to five designated airports for additional health screenings, the government said on Thursday, as an Ebola outbreak in the east African nation widens. All passengers, including U.S. citizens and residents, who have been in Uganda in the last 21 days will be flown to airports in New York, Newark, Atlanta, Chicago or Washington, where the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection will conduct the screening, according to a notification from the U.S. Embassy in Uganda. (Mahr and Pawlyk, 10/6)
AP: US To Begin Screening Travelers Coming From Uganda For Ebola
Those passengers will have a “temperature check, risk assessment, visual symptom check, and contact information verification” conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Authorities will share that Information with local health departments at the travelers’ final destination. (Miller, 10/6)
Axios: U.S. To Screen Passengers Arriving From Uganda For Ebola
Flights arriving from Uganda will be redirected to five U.S. airports for "enhanced screening" of the Ebola virus, the U.S. Embassy in Uganda said Thursday. (Doherty, 10/6)
Stat: Citing Ebola Outbreak, U.S. To Screen Travelers Arriving From Uganda
Also Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a health alert to providers and public health departments outlining the agency’s recommendations for case identification and testing for Ebola. It noted that no cases have been seen in the United States, but that the advisory was meant to serve “as a precaution and to remind clinicians about best practices” and “to raise awareness of this outbreak.” (Joseph, 10/6)
Also —
AP: CDC, WHO, Uganda To Host Regional Meeting As Ebola Spreads
The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says Uganda next week will host a ministerial meeting on the outbreak of the Sudan strain of the Ebola virus which has no proven vaccine and has caused alarm in the East Africa region. ... The current Ebola outbreak in central Uganda has a 69% case fatality rate, which Ogwell called “very high,” and four health workers are among 10 people confirmed to have died of Ebola. There have been 43 confirmed cases. None have been in the capital, Kampala. (10/6)
