LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Govenor Andy Beshear confirmed 11 Kentuckians have traveled to two areas in Africa that are experiencing outbreaks of the Ebola virus.
Both Guinea and the Democratic Republic of Congo have confirmed multiple cases and deaths in February.
"We don't believe there is any significant risk at the moment," Beshear said. "We are and we want to be transparent about it, making sure we reach out to anyone that we learn has been in these areas where the Ebola outbreak has been."
Beshear said health officials believe the virus is nearly identical to the 2014 strain.
Officials with the World Health Organization (WHO) reported cases of the Ebola virus in 2014 in a forested, rural region of Guinea. It marked the beginning of the epidemic in West Africa and eventually became the largest in history.
Beshear said local health departments contact travelers, assess exposure risk, educate those travelers about what to do if symptoms arise and quarantine those at high risk for 21 days.
Officials said none of the 11 people have been deemed high-risk for exposure.
Beshear said learning from COVID-19, they want to be sure they are ahead of the game in case anything happens.
“We are working with our hospitals to make sure they are ready to handle any suspect patients for 12 to 24 hours,” said Gov. Beshear. “We have six Ebola Assessment Hospitals that are working with us to make sure they are prepared to handle potential patients and assessments for Ebola.”
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