The States of New York, New Jersey and Illinois are making great efforts to fight the Ebola threat, at the risk of dividing American citizens. The governors of the three states have introduced a mandatory quarantine for all travelers returning from countries infected with Ebola hemorrhagic fever (Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia). The sentence for the passengers concerned: 21 days in isolation in hospital or at home (if they reside in the State).
The pill has trouble getting through to Americans. Anger was felt after the outrage of Kaci Hickox, a 33-year-old nurse returning from Sierra Leone where she worked for Doctors Without Borders (MSF). The young woman was the first to undergo this special diet when she arrived in New Jersey. She explained in the American media that she was treated “like a criminal” as soon as she landed at Newark airport, near New York.
Why the measure is ineffective
The story of this humanitarian was enough to revolt the Americans and to make them debate the interest or not of a placement in administrative segregation to fight against Ebola.
Scientists are clearly showing their skepticism about a protocol that fuels fear without being effective. “The fever precedes the contagious stage,” says Dr. Jeffrey Drazen in the New England Journal of Medicine. However, symptoms do not develop until later in an Ebola patient and this is where the risk of contagion exists. “When there are no symptoms there is no risk”.
There is no point in adding psychosis to psychosis according to the expert: “The science is very clear that catching Ebola requires being in direct contact with someone who is really sick (therefore who has already developed symptoms). We did not see any spread of the virus linked to exposure to non-sick people. “
Another argument pointed out by specialists: draconian measures such as placement in isolation or air traffic reduction have no real impact on the spread of the virus in the medium term. “These are measures intended to control fear and the perception of risk”, judge researchers from Boston University in the journal Eurosurveillance.
Finally, quarantining people returning from Ebola-affected countries risks increasing stigma and suspicion towards doctors and aid workers and deterring them from treating Ebola patients in the field.