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Congressman Murphy’s Special Enews Update: Stopping Ebola

* * * Rep. Murphy to Appear on Fox News Sunday – 10:00AM on WPGH Channel 53 * * *

With more than 4,500 people having died from the Ebola virus, and the number of cases headed toward 10,000 per week by December, public health experts warn the epidemic threatens to rapidly spread from three western African nations to the United States unless action is taken immediately. Hundreds of Americans are now in some level of quarantine because of exposure to healthcare workers diagnosed with the deadly disease after they provided care to an infected Liberian national at a Dallas hospital.
 

That patient, Thomas Michael Duncan, evaded Ebola safety protocols prior to leaving Liberia and flying to the US because he did not register a fever and lied on a government questionnaire about his exposure to an Ebola-infected patient. The White House has since added the same two protocols — temperature-taking and self-reporting — at five US airports but has refused to consider travel restrictions to protect the public health of Americans.

On Thursday, Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Tim Murphy convened a hearing with top medical officials in the federal government to examine Administration’s current strategy to stop Ebola. During an intense three hour session, Chairman Murphy grilled the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about the decisions that have exacerbated the Ebola outbreak in the US (watch Rep. Murphy on CNN).

Rep. Murphy noted the Administration’s current strategy has been a demonstrated failure: fever is not apparent in an Ebola patient 13% of the time. Moreover, fever not a sure sign of infection because the virus can remain dormant in a person for at least 21 days before symptoms appear; and a high temperature can be masked with medication like ibuprofen.

“Why are we still allowing folks to come here [from countries with Ebola outbreaks]? And why – if they’re still coming over here – is there no quarantine? You’re not stopping them from being around other people.” Read Chairman Murphy’s full opening statement here.

During an appearance Wednesday night on The O’Reilly Factor, Rep. Murphy revealed the CDC Director told him one of the reasons the Administration is opposing a travel ban is an economic concern and that cutting commercial air traffic would negatively impact the economies of “fledgling democracies” like Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
 

The Administration has also tried to explain travel restrictions are too difficult to enforce, would force travelers to lie about their whereabouts, and make it relief efforts more difficult, while at the same time deploying temperature scans and traveler interviews. Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton noted that the government already enforces travel restrictions, using “no-fly lists” for terrorists, quarantines, and “do not board” lists for persons with highly communicable diseases.

“This should not be represented as an all-or-none choice,” said Murphy. “We can and will create the means to transport whatever supplies and goods are needed in Africa to win this deadly battle. We do not have to leave the door open to all travel to and from hot zones in western Africa while Ebola is an unwelcome and dangerous stowaway on these flights.”

Murphy said the first priority must be to protect the health of the American public. He also made clear at the Thursday hearing that original CDC guidelines to protect healthcare workers were based on ‘false assumptions’ (read more in the Associated Press).

“The trust and credibility of the Administration and government are waning as the American public loses confidence each day with demonstrated failures of the current strategy. That trust must be restored, but will only be restored with honest and thorough action,” he said.

Based on the information gathered from the hearing, Chairman Murphy sent a letter Thursday afternoon immediately at the conclusion of the hearing detailing to the President immediate next steps to control the outbreak. The nine measures included travel restrictions; 21-day quarantines for those Americans who have been exposed to Ebola or were visiting the West African hot spots; stepped up training and protection for healthcare workers; accelerated review and approval by the Food and Drug Administration of promising vaccines, treatments, and diagnostic tests for the Ebola virus (read more in ABC News).

On Friday, the Administration announced movement on two of Murphy’s recommendations: new quarantine measures for medical personnel treating Ebola-infected patients and additional resources toward large-scale vaccine manufacturing.

The President also appointed a political campaign operative and former lobbyist to serve as an Ebola Czar on Friday. Murphy has said what is needed is leadership from the President and changes to his policies — not more layers of bureaucracy.
 

“This appointment is both shocking and frankly tone deaf to what the American people are concerned about. Installing yet another political appointee who has no medical background or infectious disease control experience will do little to reassure Americans who are increasingly losing confidence with the Administration’s Ebola strategy,” said Murphy.

“Not one of the medical experts who testified at our hearing yesterday said what is needed to stop the spread of the Ebola virus is a Czar, spokesman or campaign operative with no relevant experience telling them what to do. We need leadership from the President and changes to the current policies to end the scourge of Ebola here and in Western Africa.”

Rep. Murphy will discuss all of these issues during an exclusive interview with Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace. Check your local listings for airtime.

What do you think? Should there be an Ebola czar, travel restrictions, or quarantines? Share your thoughts by clicking here.