Kirk Calls for Travel and Visa Ban for Ebola-Affected Nations
Kirk Reviewed O’Hare’s Screening Procedures & Protocol Today with Health Officials
CHICAGO, IL – U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) called on Secretary of State John Kerry to issue a travel and visa issue ban on those attempting to travel from the three Ebola-affected countries in Africa – Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone – in order to prevent further infection and a potential outbreak in the United States. Kirk toured Chicago O’Hare International Airport’s designated Ebola screening area with leaders from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in order to review the procedures that are in place in the event an Ebola-infected patient arrives in Illinois. O’Hare was designated as one of the five U.S. airports that will be required to screen passengers as they arrive in the U.S. from Ebola-affected countries. Senator Kirk has also contacted HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell and expressed concern that the coordination between the CDC and Illinois health care personnel is inadequate, which would put countless lives in danger if a patient showing signs of Ebola needed immediate medical attention.
“Americans aren’t confident that the CDC is ahead of this ebola threat. U.S. visas from Africa’s three affected countries need to be immediately halted,” Senator Kirk said. “O’Hare’s first responders and our area hospitals need better coordination from HHS in the event an infected patient arrives in Illinois. Preparedness and travel restrictions will give some overdue peace of mind.”
Senator Kirk announced that the Illinois-based Isovac is donating a personal containment chamber to the Chicago Fire Department, part of O’Hare’s first responder team. The chamber which will protect those who are tasked with caring for and transporting a potential Ebola patient to the nearest hospital or quarantine unit for medical attention. Originally developed to protect U.S. troops from biochemical weapons in Iraq and Afghanistan, the PIU has since been shipped to members of the U.S. Air Force and NATO personnel stationed in the Azores Islands to preempt any type of patient evacuation or transport if the disease is contracted. Additional units have been sent to Scott Air Force Base for use by the 375th Air Mobility Wing. If utilized, following an individual’s Ebola diagnosis, medical personnel would place the individual into the 7-foot-long containment chamber and begin the process of hooking them up to various IVs and oxygen supplies. The chamber is fully equipped with an air filtration system, attached medical gloves and IV pouches. Due to the infectious nature of the Ebola virus, those who are caring for infected individuals are at a high risk of contracting the illness through direct contact with mucous membranes or broken skin. While in the PIU, the infected person is then completely contained and poses no threat to those caring for the individual en route to a medical center or hospital. This chamber is FDA-cleared.
Following the death of Thomas Duncan in Dallas, Texas, and the infection of two health care workers who had come in contact with Duncan, it was announced that five major U.S. airports will be responsible for screening patients in order to prevent any further infection within the U.S. In addition to O’Hare, the other airports conducting screenings are John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Newark International Airport in New Jersey, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International in Georgia, and Washington-Dulles International Airport in Virginia. These five airports receive an estimated 150 passengers per day and represent approximately 94 percent of travelers from the affected regions. Senator Kirk expressed concern to Secretary Burwell that the current Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which determines the local hospital where patients would be sent in the event of a potential Ebola infection, emphasizes proximity to O’Hare instead of the chosen hospital’s preparedness, bioterror infrastructure and capability. A copy of the letter can be seen here.
