1、Safe at Home? Letting Ebola-Stricken Americans Return Sarah A. Lister, Specialist in Public Health and Epidemiology (slistercrs.loc.gov, 7-7320) August 5, 2014 (IN10126) In early August 2014 two American healthcare workers who contracted Ebola virus infections while working to stem an outbreak in We
2、st Africa returned to the United States to continue receiving medical care here. Ebola infection is highly deadly and there is no approved specific treatment. Although the patients were to be transported and cared for under strict isolation protocols, some have voiced concern about Ebola infection b
3、eing brought to the United States for the first time intentionally. Ebola infection is one of several communicable diseases for which aliens are generally barred from entry into the United States. Although U.S. citizens are entitled to certain constitutional protections related to the right to trave
4、l and reenter the United States, these rights may be balanced against the governments interest in preventing the spread of a dangerous communicable disease. In any event, U.S. practice has been to isolate and/or quarantine arriving U.S. citizens who have been infected with or exposed to a dangerous