Move is designed to have uniform procedures across the U.S., but states aren't obligated to follow them
WebMD News from HealthDay
By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, Oct. 27, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Federal health officials issued new guidelines Monday for classifying and monitoring people at risk for Ebola exposure, whether they are returning home from the West African outbreak zone or caring for patients in the United States.
The guidelines establish four levels of risk -- "high" risk, "some" risk, "low" risk and "no" risk -- and recommend the sorts of restrictions and health monitoring that should accompany each category, Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said at an afternoon news briefing.
Under the guidelines, people at high risk of Ebola exposure would be confined to their homes in voluntary isolation, while people carrying some risk would have their health and movements monitored by local officials.
Those at high risk or with some risk would have daily in-person check-ups from state and local health departments for 21 days -- the outside limit for infection from Ebola. This active monitoring began Monday in the six states where approximately 70 percent of incoming travelers from West Africa are headed -- Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
The CDC issued the new guidelines after New York and New Jersey implemented controversial quarantine measures on Friday for medical workers returning from West Africa, then backed off after sharp criticism from much of the U.S. medical community.
Critics of the two states' proposals said the quarantines would discourage doctors, nurses and other health professionals from traveling to West Africa to combat the epidemic that has infected more than 10,000 people and claimed more than 4,900 lives.
Frieden said the guidelines are more "specific" and "focused" than earlier CDC guidance regarding potential Ebola exposure, and offer "more useful and clear input."
"We believe these are based on science, and these add a strong level of protection and a strong level of reassurance that someone who is in the some-risk category -- such as a returning health care worker -- is going to be intensively monitored," he said.
States aren't obligated to follow the guidelines, although Frieden noted that most state public health officials weigh CDC guidance heavily in their decisions.
The "high-risk" category includes people known to have been exposed to Ebola, either by direct unprotected contact with a patient's bodily fluids or through an accident like a needle stick or a splash to the eyes, nose or mouth.
These people would be placed in isolation at home, and barred from public transportation, workplaces or public areas. They would receive in-person daily monitoring by a health official.
Health care workers returning from West Africa would fall within the moderate "some-risk" category if they did not have direct contact with the bodily fluids of an Ebola patient. Also in the "some-risk" category would be someone living in a house with an Ebola patient who didn't provide direct care to the sick person.
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