JACKSON, Miss.–With three Ebola scares in Mississippi over the past week and real Ebola just 400 miles away, killing a man in Dallas, Mississippi health leaders are the government are meeting to make sure Mississippi is ready.
“This is a disease that is not airborne,” said Dr. Mary Currier, head doctor with the State Health Dept. She and Gov. Bryant and other emergency authorities met Wednesday.
“You can avoid close contact with people with Ebola disease. You can avoid contact with the bodily fluids of another person with Ebola,” said Currier.
A deputy in Dallas who had contact with family members of the man who died was locked down in isolation Wednesday with some symptoms.
But Currier said Mississippi does have a checklist to follow, including guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control.
“We know how to do the testing. We have phone numbers for health care providers to call if there’s a concern. We feel like we will know if there’s a case in the state and we will know what to do.”
“We have no evidence whatsoever that any Ebola virus is anywhere near the State of Mississippi,” said Gov. Bryant, “But if it were, we would respond immediately.
He said he believes that Mississippi is in good shape with the protocols that are in place now.
“There’s certainly no reason to overreact, but I think that it would be prudent, and how to make sure where we’re at and how we might react.”
