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CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden went on The Kelly File to discuss the Ebola outbreak in West Africa and the US. Frieden argued that a US travel ban on the Ebola inflicted countries would cause the disease to spread. Dr. Tom Frieden: “Above all do no harm. If we do things that make it harder to stop the epidemic there it’s going to spread to other parts of the continent…Megyn Kelly: How’s it going to make it harder to stop?Dr. Tom Frieden: Because you can’t get people in and out.Megyn Kelly: Why can’t we have charter flights?Dr. Tom Frieden: You...

MANILA, Philippines–The government has begun requiring a 21-day screening for Filipinos in Ebola-hit countries in West Africa before they would be allowed to travel to the Philippines, Health Secretary Enrique Ona said on Monday. Once cleared, returning Filipinos will be covered by a “no regrets” policy requiring observation for another 21 days in the Philippines to make sure they had not contracted the deadly virus, he said. During the second phase, Ona said Filipinos coming from Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone would be asked to inform local health authorities by cell phone of possible Ebola virus symptoms such as fever,...

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) — Is the U.S. Ebola screening effort really just a public-relations ploy? Health officials say beefed-up defenses in five U.S. airports mean they will screen 94% of passengers flying in from Ebola-hit countries. But a check of airlines schedules shows that even if that figure is correct, a significant number of flights will bypass that extra security. Dr. Joseph McCormick, professor at the University of Texas School of Public Health and former CDC official specializing in viral diseases, says the efforts seem to be the result of public pressure. “I think that the screening program is, to...

A Brooklyn teenager was rushed to the hospital yesterday after showing symptoms consistent with Ebola. The 14-year-old boy had a fever and was feeling fluish according to officials who spoke to the Daily News. He was brought to Brookdale Hospital where tests are being run to see if he has the disease. He is currently in isolation. The boy was apparently in Sudan for two weeks and hospitalized there as well, but lied to officials about being sick so he could fly home. Now, NYPD is working with officials to see if any of his family members should also be...

A group of German medical doctors in a peer-reviewed medical journal article published by Oxford University Press have challenged a key assumption regarding the Ebola virus repeatedly asserted by Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. The researchers found that a patient showing no symptoms of the disease can still transmit a virus like Ebola by air if droplets containing the virus are transmitted to another person by a sneeze or cough. snip The German physicians, led by Dr. Timm H. Westhoff of the Department of Nephrology at the Carité Campus Benjamin Franklin...

A growing number of Democrats are pressuring President Obama to ban flights to Ebola-ravaged countries despite repeated warnings from global health leaders that closing borders could accelerate the crisis. A group of 27 lawmakers, including three Democrats, signed a letter Wednesday urging Obama to ignore health officials and immediately halt flights from the West African countries worst-affected by Ebola. The lawmakers accused Obama of attempting to “pass the buck” onto organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO), which have advised against travel bans. Obama has said he would not ban travel unless the WHO reversed its position. “[The WHO] has...

On Monday on HLN, CNN medical reporter Elizabeth Cohen said she was aghast at the lax screening procedures at airports for passengers who might have been exposed to Ebola. She said that even after she told agents she was coming back from Liberia and had been covering the Ebola epidemic, the screening agents did not seem to care and could not even tell her what symptoms were Ebola warning signs. "I expected that they were going to take my temperature, they would ask me lots of questions, but they didn’t," Cohen said on HLN on Monday. "I said, 'I'm a...

President Obama is expected to meet with top health and security officials on Monday to consider whether to launch additional screening at U.S. airports for some travelers arriving from Ebola-stricken African nations. Two top U.S. health officials confirmed to Fox News on Monday that they were looking at those options as they try to contain the Ebola virus. "What will be discussed at the White House is the issue of entry screening," Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said. He explained that the first line of defense right now is for travelers to...

I never thought I’d find myself agreeing with Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal. But this week, Governor Jindal called for a ban on air travel to the U.S. from the countries where the epidemic is present. He’s right: a flight ban is the best way to keep Ebola from spreading. In the world of infectious diseases, we often hear the phrase that the next epidemic is “one flight away” from the U.S. That’s true—but we don’t usually know where that flight will originate, so we can’t simply ban all flights to the U.S. from everywhere. With Ebola, though, we know the...

The executive director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons states that restricted entry to the United States will be necessary to stop the spread of the deadly Ebola virus. “The potential for devastating loss of life is real,” wrote Dr. Jane M. Orient on the website of AAPS. “The disease must be stopped before there are millions of persons exposed instead of 100.” Orient said that restricting entry to the United States means that travelers from areas affected by Ebola must be “carefully screened and quarantined when indicated.” Additionally, she warned that to contain the spread of Ebola,...

The federal government is not considering a travel ban to the United States from Africa, thanks to a “sophisticated multi layer screening system" at airports in Africa, according to the White House. “If we can screen through the transportation system to ensure that individuals that are exhibiting symptoms don't have access to a transportation system, then you can keep the transportation system secure,” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest explained to reporters aboard Air Force One. A travel ban would make it more difficult for professionals to reach Africa to help end the Ebola epidemic, he explained.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal on Friday called on the Obama administration to impose a travel ban on flights coming to the U.S. from countries with Ebola outbreaks. “We should stop accepting flights from countries that are Ebola stricken,” the Republican governor said in a statement. “President Obama said it was ‘unlikely’ that Ebola would reach the U.S. Well, it has, and we need to protect our people,” he added. “But the Obama administration keeps saying they won’t shut down flights. They instead say we should listen to ‘the experts.’ In fact, they said it would be counterproductive to stop these...

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has attacked the Obama administration for its "unclear" handling of the Ebola crisis, while urging the Federal Aviation Administration to take extra precautions to prevent more infected victims entering the United States. Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com http://www.Newsmax.com/Newsfront/Ted-Cruz-Ebola-FAA-West-African-nations/2014/10/03/id/598426/#ixzz3F5g0dLUI Urgent: Should Obamacare Be Repealed? Vote Here Now!

A man who flew from Liberia to Dallas has become the first Ebola case to be diagnosed within the U.S., the CDC reported Tuesday, and he is currently in isolation at Dallas's Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital. Americans have been warned not to travel to Liberia, Guinea, or Sierra Leone, but they obviously can—and do. So how are countries keeping suspected Ebola patients (well, most of them, anyway) contained within their borders? Thermometers, mostly. People are screened for elevated temperatures before they're allowed to board planes departing from the countries where Ebola is raging. Fever is one of the earliest symptoms...

The spokesman for the U.N. secretary-general says the United Nations believes air travel to and from the West African countries affected by the Ebola virus should continue despite the first reported case in the United States. Stephane Dujarric told reporters Thursday that "it's very important not to isolate these countries" as it would worsen their political and economic situations. He says aid groups need access to the region. The first reported U.S. case involves a man who flew from Liberia to visit relatives. His travel took him through Brussels and Washington before reaching Texas....

“If you like your Ebola free United States, you can keep your Ebola free United States” could be another Barack Obama promise. Just another in the long time of promises with, as Jim Geraghty of National Review has noted, comes with an expiration date. This one set on September 20, 2014, when the Ebola patient arrived in Dallas carrying the disease. Since then, the Obama administration has been asked about stopping flights into West African countries where Ebola is a problem. Their position is to keep the flights going. But don’t worry. We are taking people’s temperature before they board...

Purpose: To give information to airlines on stopping ill travelers from boarding, managing and reporting onboard sick travelers, protecting crew and passengers from infection, and cleaning the plane and disinfecting contaminated areas. Key Points: ** A U.S. Department of Transportation rule permits airlines to deny boarding to air travelers with serious contagious diseases that could spread during flight, including travelers with possible Ebola symptoms. This rule applies to all flights of U.S. airlines, and to direct flights (no change of planes) to or from the United States by foreign airlines. ** Cabin crew should follow routine infection control precautions for...

The study made a startling realization: there’s a crucial respiratory cloud that you expel every time you sneeze or cough, which is made up of hot/moist air and some water. This cloud actually enhanced the range and travel length of the smaller droplets, helping them travel way farther than they previously thought. Because the droplets are in a cloud, they stay suspended and travel further — particularly smaller ones, which travel up to 200 times farther than previously estimated. Therefore, they can penetrate the room and ventilation systems more insidiously.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is demanding more details on the Federal Aviation Administration’s strategy to contain Ebola amid mounting public concerns about the disease’s spread through air travel.Blasting the Obama administration’s “unclear approach to addressing the threat of the Ebola virus,” Cruz said people should know how the top U.S. travel officials are protecting them from Ebola on airlines.Cruz highlighted travel restrictions enacted by several other countries and asked whether the FAA plans to limit or suspend flights. He also asked for more details about how airline workers are trained to recognize symptoms of the disease.“It is imperative that the...

Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on Friday said restricting travel between the U.S. and West Africa would likely “backfire” and put Americans more at risk of contracting Ebola. Appearing on MSNBC, Frieden was asked about potentially prohibiting air travel between the U.S. and West Africa, where the Ebola outbreak is most widespread. He said that such a restriction would likely be ineffective and would make it harder for health officials to root out the virus. “The only way we’re going to get to zero risk is by stopping the outbreak at the source” in...