The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued new guidelines Monday for people at higher risk of contracting Ebola.
The new CDC guidelines come in the wake of announcement by governors of New York and New Jersey that all travelers who had contact with Ebola patients in West Africa will be placed under a mandatory 21-day quarantine once they arrive on the U.S. soil.
However, the CDC had not recommended quarantine for travelers from West Africa earlier. Instead it had called for screening of the travelers from the affected countries and monitoring of people from these countries for three weeks after they land in the United States.
Announcing the guidelines, CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden said that he was worried some of the declared state policies will "have the effect of creating stigma or false impressions," reported the Associated Press.
Under the new guidelines , the CDC divided the people who come under the purview of Ebola into four categories - high-risk, some risk, low risk, and no risk.
The people with the highest risk are those who had direct contact with the body fluids of an Ebola patient. Health care workers who may receive a needle-stick injury while caring for an Ebola patient also fall into this category. These people should avoid commercial travel or must not attend public gatherings, even if they are asymptomatic, the new guidelines say, reports NBC News.
Though the guidelines did not mention where a person in the high risk category should stay, officials clarified that it meant home or hospital isolation.
People with some risk are those who come into close contact with a patient without protective gear. The new guidelines say that these people should be monitored and the official should use their discretion in restricting their movements.
People who traveled to an Ebola affected country, those who were near a patient but didn't care for him, caregivers who wore protective gear etc are included in the low risk category. The CDC says that though such people should be monitored for symptoms, they should not be restricted.
Finally, the CDC guidelines say that there is no need to monitor people in the no risk category - the people who were in contact with a patient before he/she showed symptoms of the disease, or who have traveled to an affected country 21 days ago.
