Ebola Checks Stopped For African Travelers Coming To California

The California Department of Public Health is no longer monitoring travelers returning from countries in West Africa for symptoms of the Ebola virus disease, Health officials announced Wednesday.

Citing an end the outbreaks of the disease in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, health officials said travelers coming back to California no longer need to check in with health departments for monitoring.

The CDHP said the Ebola Monitoring Program began on Oct. 12, 2014 after the West African outbreak that began in December 2013. According to health officials, this was the largest Ebola outbreak in history, with over 28,000 people infected of which 11,315 were killed.

In California, roughly 1,300 travelers were monitored for signs of Ebola for a period of up to 21 days, health officials said, although no cases were found in the state.

In addition to monitoring travelers, the state Department of Public Health worked with local departments and healthcare providers to ensure emergency crews, physicians and hospitals were prepared and trained to deal with highly infectious disease - such as Ebola.

Director and State Public Health Officer Dr. Karen Smith said in a statement, “As the Ebola outbreak comes to an end, the continued focus on traveler health is extremely important.”

Dr. Smith went on to say, “Monitoring travelers from the affected countries was a monumental task that proved very successful.”

-Bay City News Service, image via ShutterStock