SAINT LOUIS, MO (KMOX) - The U.S. wants European nations to step up travel restrictions for travelers from Central Africa, over concerns about the spread of the disease to American cities hosting World Cup soccer games over the next month. Kansas City, Missouri is one of the US host sites for World Cup matches over the next month and is expecting hundreds of thousands of international visitors.
Should Americans be worried about World Cup visitors from other countries bringing the deadly Ebola virus with them?
"It's a very low risk," says Dr. Alexander Garza, Chief Community Health Officer at SSM Health, "and the reason why I say that is because of some of the restrictions that have already been put into place for travel to the United States." Garza says the current practice of concentrating disease screening at key airports in the U.S. also makes sense in terms of available resources and logistics. "The probability of somebody traveling from those affected areas, into Europe and then into the United States, is pretty low."
He points out, Ebola is not an airborne disease like COVID. Instead it's transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids.
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KMOX's Total Information AM talks with SSM Health Chief Community Health Officer Dr. Alexander Garza
KMOX's Total Information AM talks with SSM Health Chief Community Health Officer Dr. Alexander Garza
