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Study questions 21-day quarantine period for Ebola

As medical personnel and public health officials are responding to the first reported cases of Ebola Virus in the United States, many of the safety and treatment procedures for treating the virus and preventing its spread are being reexamined. One of the tenets for minimizing the risk of spreading the disease has been a 21-day quarantine period for individuals who might have been exposed to the virus. But a new study by Charles Haas, PhD, a professor in Drexel’s College of Engineering, suggests that 21 days might not be enough to completely prevent spread of the virus.

Haas’s study “On the Quarantine Period for Ebola Virus,” recently published in PLOS Currents: Outbreaks looks at the murky basis for our knowledge about the virus, namely previous outbreaks in Africa in 1976 (Zaire) and 2000 (Uganda) as well as the first 9 months of the current outbreak.

Ebola virus (stock illustration). A new study suggests that 21 days of quarantine might not be enough to completely prevent spread of the virus. Credit: © krishnacreations / Fotolia