A Rutland man is being held in voluntary quarantine after returning from a month of travel in West Africa, state officials said Tuesday.
State officials say the unidentified man was traveling in Guinea and Sierra Leone, two of three West African countries that are the epicenter of the largest Ebola outbreak in history. The disease has killed nearly 5,000 people this year.
The man was met by Vermont, New York and federal health and law enforcement officials at JFK International Airport in New York and brought back to Vermont by law enforcement Monday night.
Ebola cannot be spread by someone who is not displaying symptoms.
“We believe he is at low risk of actually contracting the disease,” Shumlin said.
The man is being monitored by Health Department officials for symptoms of Ebola or other illness, and his temperature is taken twice per day to check for fever.
Officials say he has voluntarily agreed to remain in quarantine for the requisite 21-day window during which symptoms can crop up. The clock on the period began Monday, officials said.
The health commissioner has the authority to hold people in quarantine involuntarily should it deem that necessary for public safety and health. Shumlin said the state would use that authority if necessary.
Health Department workers monitoring the man are not wearing protective gear and have not received special training, state officials said, adding that they do not believe that it’s necessary at this time.
People who are exposed to Ebola and contract the disease are least infectious when they first begin displaying symptoms, Health Department Epidemiologist Patsy Kelso said.
Officials said that’s why two nurses who treated Thomas Duncan in Texas became infected, because they had contact with him in the latter stages of the disease. Duncan is the only U.S. patient to have died in the current epidemic.
Shumlin said he would not disclose the man’s identity or where he is being quarantined, “in deference to him and his anonymity.” He is in a “rural” location in housing arranged by the state, which is covering his expenses, officials said.
Health officials stressed that the risk to the public is extremely low, and all necessary precautions are being taken.
Should the man begin to display symptoms, he will immediately be transferred to a health care facility, officials said.
He would likely be taken to Fletcher Allen Health Care or Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire, whichever is closer to his location. Both facilities are prepared to treat Ebola patients.
Vermont officials were notified by people who knew the man and were concerned about his return from West Africa.
“We don’t know exactly where he went or what he did while he was in West Africa,” Shumlin said.
He has represented himself in “public statements” as a physician, officials said, and that his intention was to investigate the Ebola epidemic in the countries he visited.
The man has told officials that he did not have contact with Ebola patients while abroad, but that can’t be confirmed.
Shumlin said the man was in West Africa with the “intention of helping people,” but did not say what that is based on.
“Some of the organizations that he wished to help that are working doing the work with Ebola, they looked at his credentials and he was not accepted by them,” Shumlin said.
The man is not licensed as a doctor or health professional in Vermont. He was not traveling or affiliated with any governmental, public health, medical or aid organization, according to officials.
Rutland Mayor Chris Louras posted a notice on his Facebook page confirming that the man was from Rutland.
“Over the last several days, the City of Rutland and the State of Vermont have been working tirelessly and collaboratively to find a safe, secure location for this Rutland resident, and we have been successful,” Louras’ post read in part.
Officials aren’t aware of any other Vermonters in West Africa.
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention field worker who was posted to Vermont is in Liberia, but upon his return to the U.S. the CDC is sending him to Alabama, officials said.
For more information on Ebola and preparedness in Vermont visit the Health Department website.
