Ebola Information to Be Distributed in 40 Languages in Dallas, Site of First Infection in US
Health officials in Dallas, where the first Ebola patient in the United States was identified, anticipate having to monitor the situation for more than a month and are distributing information in a multitude of languages for residents.
Bloomberg reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) along with local and state health workers are monitoring about 50 of the individuals that came into contact with Thomas Duncan, a Liberian native.
"If there was anyone who had any contact whatsoever with any of these individuals, their name was added to the list," said Erikka Neroes, a spokeswoman for Dallas County Department of Health and Human Services. "As a precautionary measure we don't want to leave anyone off."
A family that Duncan was with have been quarantined in their homes for the next two weeks, and several others, including children, are being monitored.
Information about Ebola is also being distributed throughout the city in 40 different languages.
Dallas City Councilwoman Jennifer Staubach Gates told Bloomberg that fliers are being translated into the various languages spoken in the city.
"This is a diverse, economically challenged area where people speak very little English," she said.
But the current situation has drawn criticism about airport security and hospital procedures.
Duncan was released from the hospital the first time he went for feeling ill, as well as the second time when he was suspected of having Ebola.
Before setting foot in Dallas, and having just arrived from Liberia, all Duncan received was a fact sheet about the virus at the airport, Bloomberg reported.
Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, is renewing his call for a screening process for visitors from the West African nations affected by the outbreak -- which includes Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Nigeria, Senegal.
There is also an unrelated outbreak of the virus which has killed at least 50 individuals in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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