Ebola Virus Outbreak: Colombia Turns Away West Africa Travelers; Should US Follow Suit?

Ebola fears have been spreading throughout Latin America as the epidemic becomes a worldwide affair. Now the country of Colombia has begun turning away travelers who have recently visited countries in West Africa affected by the virus. The measure became effective on Tuesday, according to Reuters. Visitors to Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and Nigeria are subject to being rejected when landing in Colombia. Border officials will deny the entry to anyone that shows a passport that traveled to any of those countries. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) the epidemic is still spreading in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia and it is projected there could be 5,000 and 10,000 new cases a week by December.

A man with Ebola-like symptoms is being tested in Cali after working in Equatorial Guinea. "This person is under observation and we are following protocols to take care of the patient and stop the virus from spreading in case he tests positive," Fernando Gutiérrez, Secretary of Healty, told El Universal. Initial studies have determined that the symptoms could possibly be from a different type of disease like those from cholera, malaria or dengue. Equatorial Guinea, which is about 1,400 miles south of Guinea, has not had any cases of the ebola virus. Fernando Ruiz Gómez, Health Deputy, said "these are not suspicious cases, they are simply people that were in places where ebola is and that is why they are under observation."

Initially it was believed that ebola was not able to be transmitted airborne, but after the virus was transmitted between patients in the U.S. protocols are going to have to change. Dr. David Sanders, Professor at Purdue University, has been studying the virus since 2003 and says, "it can enter the lung from the airway side." He also added, "So this argues that Ebola is primed to have respiratory transmission. We need to be taking this into consideration. What if? This is not a crazy, 'What if?' This is not a wild, 'What if?'" As of late we've only seen cases where the virus has been transferred through bodily fluids, but this can change. Sanders points out that the longer the virus spreads and mutates, the more likely airborne transmission will become a reality.