Duke Officials Monitoring Ebola Outbreak

Duke officials are monitoring the Ebola breakout in West Africa and are taking measures to mitigate the potential for exposure and developing protocols for providing care in its medical facilities, if needed.  Earlier this week, Duke imposed full country travel restrictions on Liberia and Guinea and left in place the travel restrictions for Sierra Leone.  “This is being done in light of the Ebola outbreak heavily affecting these countries and is in line with CDC recommendations to avoid non-essential travel to these countries,” said Eric Ossmann, MD, director of the Duke Preparedness and Response Center. “At this point the outbreak appears to be geographically limited primarily to these countries, though a few cases have been recently reported in Nigeria. Except for the two cases that have been transferred from Liberia to Emory Hospital in Atlanta for treatment, no cases have been reported in the United States, where the risk remains very low.” Duke University does not currently have faculty, staff or students visiting Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, and there are no incoming students from these countries attending Duke during the upcoming fall semester.   “As a global university we regularly receive foreign visitors and travelers, and we are prepared to evaluate a possible case of Ebola presenting at any of our institutions,” Ossman said. “Isolation plans and protective procedures for contacts including healthcare workers have been developed as a precaution.” Kyle Canavaugh, vice president for Administration and Duke’s emergency coordinator, said that he is talking regularly with various officials across the institution to assess any potential risks for students, faculty, staff, patients and visitors.  “Duke’s emergency management team continues to monitor the situation closely and will provide updates as new information becomes available,” he said.