U.S. officials seek to reassure American public on Ebola case

阿邱

WASHINGTON, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- U.S. health officials on Friday sought to reassure American public that there's little chance of an Ebola outbreak in the country, saying that the U.S. health care infrastructure is well equipped to "stop Ebola in its tracks".

"I think it's very important to remind the American people that the United States has the most capable health care infrastructure and the best doctors in the world," Lisa Monaco, deputy national security adviser to President Barack Obama, said at a White House briefing on the U.S. government response to the country's first Ebola case, after a Liberian man was confirmed to be infected with the deadly virus Tuesday at a Dallas hospital.

"I want to emphasize that the United States is prepared to deal with this crisis, both at home and in the region. Every Ebola outbreak over the past 40 years has been stopped. We know how to do this, and we will do it again," Monaco said, trying to tamp down fears that the virus could spread through the United States.

Meanwhile, Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, said that Ebola is not easily transmitted though it is an extremely serious viral disease with a high fatality rate.

Ebola spread rapidly in West Africa largely due to the lack of an adequate health care infrastructure to deal with the outbreak, he said.

"The reason that we feel confident is that our structure, our ability to do those things would preclude an outbreak," Fauci said, noting that "we need to get information out because there is a lot of fear".

Sylvia Burwell, Secretary of Health and Human Services, emphasized the precautions taken to prevent the spread.

"We've instituted exit screening procedures in West Africa to prevent those who have been exposed to Ebola or are sick with Ebola from traveling," said Burwell.

U.S. President Barack Obama called David Rodriguez, Commander of U.S. Africa Command, Friday afternoon to discuss the U.S. government' s response to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa.

"The President and General Rodriguez discussed the progress of the response, known as Operation United Assistance, whose Joint Force Command deployed in mid-September," the White House said in a statement.

"They noted that this Operation is bringing additional speed and scale to the U.S. government's regional response" in containing the epidemic at its source, it said.

U.S. Defense Department Press Secretary John Kirby said Friday that the U.S. could deploy up to 4,000 service members to Liberia as part of a comprehensive assistance plan against Ebola.

Thomas Eric Duncan, a Liberian visitor in his mid-40s, became the first person to be diagnosed with Ebola on U.S. soil.

Duncan arrived in Dallas on Sept. 20 and began to show signs of Ebola several days later. He went to a hospital on Sept. 26, only to be dismissed with some antibiotics.

He returned to the hospital on Sept. 28 in an ambulance, and was confirmed to be the first diagnosed patient in the United States on Sept. 30. He was listed in "serious but stable" condition on Thursday.