Americans infected with the deadly strain of Ebola shall be taken to European countries for treatment as an alternative of the US, an official has revealed.
Concern is growing over the outbreak of deadly Ebola within the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in recent weeks.
Now an official from Trump’s administration has said that any Americans who need advanced medical care can be transported to Europe, not the US, in keeping with NBC News.
US officials have arrange a quarantine facility in Kenya to treat American patients, and it is ready to open today with 50 beds.
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This shall be the primary stop for the exposed Americans before they’re taken to a different country in Europe. The destination countries haven’t yet been named.
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The Trump administration has insisted that the rationale for the plan is shorter flights.
One American citizen, a surgeon who had worked in a hospital in DRC, was taken to Germany together with his family after contracting Ebola.
Dr Peter Stafford treated an individual infected with Ebola unknowingly before the outbreak was noticed. His wife, also a physician, had operated on the identical patient.
Five others who were exposed were also transported to Germany, while one patient was taken to Czechia, Reuters reports.
The US has put stringent measures in place in a bid to prevent Ebola from spreading to the country.
Non-citizens who’ve been in Congo, Uganda or South Sudan within the last 21 days are blocked from entering the US.
Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State, said: ‘We cannot and won’t allow any cases of Ebola to enter the USA.’
Death toll from the virus is mounting, with 223 suspected fatalities linked to the specific strain, which currently has no vaccine against it. Cases have soared to around 1,000.
The recent outbreak of hantavirus on a cruise ship with people from dozens of nations complicated the response and where to take patients.
MV Hondius, the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship, was eventually allowed to dock in Tenerife, which sparked a protest on the island.
Ebola within the DRC and Uganda has been declared a health emergency by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Efforts to tackle the outbreak within the DRC are hampered by ongoing internal conflict within the country, particularly within the eastern border regions controlled by various militias, and lack of resources.
Misinformation in regards to the disease can be rife, which has led to violent clashes as mobs of individuals have forced their way into health clinics to reclaim bodies of family members.
The strain of Ebola behind the continuing outbreak is often known as the Bundibugyo strain. There isn’t any vaccine, although scientists in Oxford are urgently developing one.
A vaccine for the strain could take as much as nine months to create and roll out, the WHO has said.
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