KAUFMAN COUNTY, Texas — County officials today released several statements regarding the recent diagnosis of Ebola in Dallas, Texas, on September 30, 2014 — the first case of Ebola diagnosed in the United States.
KAUFMAN COUNTY, Texas — County officials today released several statements regarding the recent diagnosis of Ebola in Dallas, Texas, on September 30, 2014 — the first case of Ebola diagnosed in the United States.
According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, the adult male patient who tested positive for Ebola is being quarantined at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, Texas. The man recently traveled to Dallas from Liberia in West Africa.
The City of Dallas has activated their Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and will be working closely with the Centers for Disease Control and the Dallas County Health and Human Services Department.
Kaufman County’s Office of Emergency Management stated today in a statement they would not be launching their EOC because there currently “is no threat to Kaufman County.”
“We will continue to monitor the situation and provide information to the public as we receive such pertinent information,” the statement further read.
Kaufman County AgrLife Extension Service and Family and Consumer Sciences Agent Katie Phillips an Ebola epidemic in the United States is very unlikely.
“According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the spread of Ebola in the affected African countries is due to a lack of medical professionals, treatment facilities, and supplies. In addition, not enough people in these countries understand how the disease is spread and how to keep it from spreading to others,” stated Phillips.
“If someone does develop Ebola after returning to the US, our public health system has a strong ability to track people and their contacts. Our health care system has plenty of supplies, medicines, doctors, and nurses with the know-how to treat and stop it from spreading,” she said.
“It is important to remember that we are all more likely to be affected or die from flu—36,000 people die from flu every year in the US. Flu shots are now available, and we all need to get our flu shots soon. Washing our hands with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub; avoiding touching our eyes, nose, or mouth; covering our coughs with tissue or sneezing into our elbow instead of our hands; staying away from sick people; and staying away from others when we are sick also reduces the spread of all infectious diseases,” stated Phillips.
The CDC has established an Ebola information page on their website at www.cdc.gov/ebola.
