Given the recently confirmed Ebola outbreak in Uganda, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a health advisory reminding health care providers to remain aware of a patient’s international travel history and alert to the possibility of communicable infections.
At this time, there are no suspected or confirmed Ebola cases related to this outbreak reported in the United States. However, as a precaution, CDC is communicating with U.S. public health departments and health care workers, along with educating travelers, to raise awareness of this outbreak.
The advisory includes best practices for clinicians, including the importance of obtaining a detailed travel history from patients with suspected Ebola, especially those that have been in affected areas of Uganda.
CDC’s Viral Special Pathogens Branch (VSPB) is available 24/7 for consultations regarding suspected Ebola cases. Health care providers can call the CDC Emergency Operations Center at 770.488.7100 and request VSPB’s on-call epidemiologist or email spather@cdc.gov.
Visit the America’s Essential Hospitals Ebola resource page for more information.
Contact Senior Director of Policy Erin O’Malley at eomalley@essentialhospitals.org or 202.585.0127 with questions.
