[Carry_Okie]

We should be even more vigilant when the people whom the government seeks to confine are neither sick nor contagious.

I would like Mr. Sullum to define precisely when a person carrying the Ebola virus becomes contagious together with the indications that said individual must then self-quarantine. I want him to tell me precisely at what point in the course of infection the first viral particle leaves the human colon.

I'll bet that nobody knows the answer to that question. Hence the abundance of caution that obliterates Mr. Sullum's argument.

[Will88]

Hence the abundance of caution that obliterates Mr. Sullum's argument.

Haven't heard any of the feds in Obama's administration using that once often heard phrase. And an abundance of caution is exactly what competent leadership at every level would be using when dealing with a virus with a 70% mortality rate. And they do not know for certain how ebola is transmitted.

Reckless and irresponsible 'leadership' what has put political considerations before public health.

[riverdawg]

Exactly. The problem with the CDC’s position is that early symptoms of Ebola infection are not specific to that virus; they are similar to the symptoms associated with the common cold or flu. So, even “trained health professionals” may dismiss these initial symptoms as “only a cold” and decide not to self-quarantine when, in fact, they have contracted the Ebola virus and are contagious.