Missionaries returning to US after working with Ebola patients to be quarantined

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Missionaries returning to US after working with Ebola patients to be quarantined

Published August 10, 2014?
FoxNews.com

CHARLOTTE, N.C. ? Missionaries returning to the United States after working with patients infected with Ebola will be put in quarantine and monitored, health officials said Sunday.

The quarantine will last at least three weeks since the missionaries were last exposed to people infected with the Ebola virus, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said.

The missionaries are with Charlotte-based SIM USA. None of them are sick or have shown any signs of having Ebola, but they agree with health officials that everyone should be as cautious as possible, SIM USA president Bruce Johnson said in a statement.

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http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/08/1...o-us-after-working-with-ebola-patients-to-be/

 

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Re: Missionaries returning to US after working with Ebola patients to be quarantined

SIM USA > Latest News >

SIM Missionaries Returning To Charlotte

August 10, 2014

CHARLOTTE, N.C. ? SIM USA, the Charlotte-based mission organization, announced today that some of its missionary staff based in Liberia will be returning to Charlotte.

Because the returning staff worked with or around patients infected with the Ebola virus, SIM USA is working closely with the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services? Division of Public Health and the Mecklenburg County Health Department to prepare for their arrival and stay.

For precautionary measures, state and local public health officials are requiring a period of quarantine for the staff and other people who were exposed to Ebola and are returning to North Carolina within 21 days since their last exposure. No returning SIM USA staff member is sick or has symptoms of Ebola infection. The measures being taken are preventative, and public health officials say there is no cause for concern at this time.

Out of concern for the privacy of the returning missionaries and their families, details of their arrival and stay are being withheld at this time.

?SIM USA has been working closely with international, national, state and local public health officials since this most recent outbreak of Ebola in Western Africa began,? said Bruce Johnson, president, SIM USA. ?We will continue to cooperate and collaborate with them and adhere strictly to their guidelines in the return of our missionaries to the United States.?
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http://simusa.org/content/latest-news/4492/sim_missionaries_returning_to_charlotte

 

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Re: Missionaries returning to US after working with Ebola patients to be quarantined

<TABLE id=1col border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width=785><TBODY><TR><TD style="WIDTH: 510px; HEIGHT: 1px" class=contentheader vAlign=top>Agencies Coordinate Return of Missionaries from West Africa </TD><TD style="WIDTH: 200px" class=ms-alignright vAlign=top></TD></TR><TR><TD class=content height=1 vAlign=top width=510>8/10/2014 </TD><TD class=content height=1 vAlign=top width=200></TD></TR><TR><TD class=content height=1 vAlign=top colSpan=2>The N.C. DHHS? Division of Public Health, the Mecklenburg County Health Department and SIM USA are working in collaboration upon the return of missionaries, staff and their families from West African countries currently affected by an Ebola outbreak.


</TD></TR><TR><TD class=content height=1 vAlign=top colSpan=3>SIM USA is a Charlotte-based mission organization, and some of their staff provided patient care to persons with Ebola.

For precautionary measures, NC Public Health officials are requiring a period of quarantine for these staff and other people who were exposed to Ebola and are returning to North Carolina within 21 days since their last exposure. No returning SIM USA staff member is sick or has symptoms of Ebola infection, and there are no confirmed or suspected cases of Ebola in North Carolina. These are preventative measures being taken, and at this time public health officials say there is no cause for concern.

According to Dr. Stephen Keener, Mecklenburg County Medical Director, ?Quarantine is a public health measure to protect the public that requires healthy people who were exposed to a disease to be prevented from contact with others until it is certain that they are not infected.? The 21-day period is based on the longest duration of incubation, which is the delay between exposure and onset of illness for Ebola infection. The average incubation period is 8-10 days, while the range is 2-21 days. In this case, the period of quarantine is only for the length of time necessary to complete the 21-days observation period.

Ebola is not spread through the air, water or food. Ebola is spread through direct contact with the bodily fluids (blood, urine, feces, saliva and other secretions) of an infected person, or with objects like needles that have been contaminated with the virus.

?Mecklenburg County, NC DHHS? Division of Public Health and SIM USA are working hand-in-hand to assure quarantine is carried-out with respect and care for these dedicated people,? said Keener. ?Public health officials express their gratitude to the courageous missionaries who are participating in the medical and humanitarian response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
This measure is being taken out of an abundance of caution, and it is important to remember that there are no confirmed or suspected cases of Ebola in North Carolina.?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Ebola currently poses no substantial risk to the U.S. general population.

For additional information on Ebola, visit http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/.


http://charmeck.org/mecklenburg/cou...Return-of-Missionaries-from-West-Africa-.aspx
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Re: Missionaries returning to US after working with Ebola patients to be quarantined

Three SIM Missionaries Serving in Liberia During Ebola Outbreak Arrive in U.S.

August 11, 2014

CHARLOTTE, N.C. ? Three SIM missionaries serving in Liberia during the recent Ebola virus outbreak returned to the United States late Sunday night. They flew into Charlotte-Douglas International Airport by private charter and arrived at 10:16 p.m.

Among the three is David Writebol, husband of SIM missionary Nancy Writebol, who is being treated for Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. The other two missionaries are SIM doctors who have been treating Ebola patients at SIM?s ELWA medical facilities in Monrovia, Liberia. Their names are being withheld at this time to protect their privacy and that of their families.

?We are excited to have these three missionaries safely back in the U.S.,? said Bruce Johnson, president of SIM USA. ?They are all healthy and in good spirits, and we want to express our gratitude to all those involved in the effort to bring them back, and for the prayers of countless people around the world.?
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All three SIM missionaries are healthy and showing no signs or symptoms of Ebola infection. Each was checked and cleared medically before boarding the flight from Liberia to the U.S. Each was also checked and found healthy by Mecklenburg County (N.C.) Public Health communicable disease specialists upon arrival in Charlotte.

Ebola is not contagious unless a person is presenting symptoms.

The missionaries will remain under a 21-day quarantine that began in Liberia, the continuation of which is being required by the Mecklenburg County Health Department, working in concert with the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services? Division of Public Health and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. SIM appreciates and sought the involvement of local, state, national and international public health professionals to ensure public safety.
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The three SIM missionaries will be staying in a private section of SIM USA?s 90-acre campus in Charlotte until they have been released from quarantine. SIM has been working with the Mecklenburg County Health Department and the N.C. Division of Public Health to make full preparations for this period.

Upon completion of the 21-day quarantine period, David Writebol plans to visit his wife Nancy in Atlanta.
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http://www.simusa.org/content/ebola...n_liberia_during_ebola_outbreak_arrive_in_u_s