Dele Davies, M.D., the vice chancellor for academic affairs, issued a statement Wednesday saying that UNMC and its affiliated clinical enterprise are closely monitoring the Ebola virus outbreak in several Western African countries and the related guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO).
“While we are not aware of any medical center student or faculty member who is currently in the affected countries, we have taken steps to ensure that each person who travels or plans to travel to endemic areas (currently Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia or Nigeria) follows an established protocol,” Dr. Davies said. (The protocol is listed in the sidebar at right).
The CDC has issued a warning to avoid nonessential travel to the West African nations of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. This Level 3 travel warning is a reflection of the worsening Ebola outbreak in this region and the severity of the illness. In addition, Nigeria is under a U.S. Department of State travel warning.
University of Nebraska Executive Memorandum 25 bans student travel to countries for which the CDC or the State Department has issued a Travel Health Warning. As such, no NU students should travel to Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia or Guinea until these travel warnings have been canceled.
UNMC faculty/staff and those in the clinical enterprise are strongly encouraged to not travel to these locations, unless absolutely necessary. Individuals should closely monitor conditions, including travel and health care infrastructure support, which can change suddenly in response to local events.
Academic deans and directors who approve travel also should watch these conditions closely. University employees who plan international travel should register their travel plans with the Office of International Health and Medical Education. This will facilitate their access to emergency health, if needed, while on international travel.