PORTLAND, Ore. — State public health officials say they are ready to respond in the unlikely event a person with Ebola arrives in Oregon, but they emphasize that risk of exposure is low.
However, they do encourage people to talk to their doctors if they have recently traveled to West Africa.
Dr. Katrina Hedberg with the Oregon Health Authority that while Ebola can be deadly, it’s not highly communicable. Ebola is not an airborne virus.
A press briefing was held at the OHA’s Portland State Office Building a day after the first Ebola case within the United States was diagnosed.
State and local health departments are working closely with the CDC to keep hospitals, and all other parts of the health system, updated on developments in West Africa, and informed on how to identify, test and respond to a human case in Oregon.
For the latest Ebola updates, visit:
- Oregon Isolation and Quarantine Bench Book (PDF): http://public.health.oregon.gov/DiseasesConditions/CommunicableDisease/ReportingCommunicableDisease/Documents/benchbook.pdf
- CDC Travel Advisories: http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices
- CDC Outbreak of Ebola in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone: http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/guinea/index.html
- CDC Ebola homepage: http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/index.html
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