CDC says little risk of Ebola outbreak spreading to U.S.

A transmission electron micrograph shows the ultrastructural morphology displayed by an Ebola virus virion. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

MINNEAPOLIS -- An outbreak of Ebola in West Africa may seem like a distant threat to many Americans, but it is stirring fear in Minnesota, home to thousands of Liberian immigrants.

The potentially Ebola-related death last week of a Liberian government official whose wife and children live in Minnesota has heightened concerns and inspired a fundraising drive to send medical supplies to Liberia. State health officials have been meeting with community members to talk about recognizing the disease and how to travel safely, as Minnesota is home to about 17 per cent of the United States' Liberian population.

More than 670 people have died during the recent outbreak in West Africa. But no cases of Ebola have been confirmed in the United States, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday it poses little risk to the general U.S. population.

"It is killing people like crazy," said Prudence McCabe, a Minnesota resident of Liberian heritage. "Everyone is trying to call family members ... we are trying to send money right away. ... All we can do is pray and be helpful."

Nigerian health officials reported Friday that Liberian government official Patrick Sawyer died from the disease after travelling from Liberia to Nigeria. The World Health Organization has not yet confirmed the cause. Sawyer was a former Minnesota resident and naturalized American whose wife and children still live in suburban Minneapolis.

His wife, Decontee Sawyer, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he had planned to come home for two of his three daughters' birthdays next month.

The Centers for Disease Control has said the risk of Ebola spreading to the United States is remote. The isolation and infection control measures that are standard in this country would likely snuff out such a possibility, it said.

However, the CDC sent an alert to U.S. doctors on Monday, updating them on the West Africa outbreak, reminding them to ask patients with Ebola-like symptoms about recent travel, and to isolate and test patients they think might be infected.

The Minnesota Department of Health said officials are providing information to health providers, West African community members and local West African media.

Sakui Malakpa, a professor at the University of Toledo who was in Minnesota over the weekend, said he has a ticket to travel to Liberia on Aug. 12, but is considering postponing his trip.

"The last thing we want is for people here to be worried about us going there," he said.

Zubah Kpanaku, chairman of the board for the Organization of Liberians in Minnesota, said his wife is in Liberia, helping build a house for her family. He said she is a registered nurse, so she knows how to protect herself, but she still may try to come back to Minnesota sooner than planned.

Patrick Sawyer didn't make it back to the U.S., where his wife of six years lives.

Sawyer, who held a master's in public health administration, returned to Liberia soon after they married in 2008 and worked on economic development for the Finance Ministry, his wife said.

"He said Liberia needs him. He was all about social justice and change and a better democracy," she said. "Having lived in the U.S. for many years, he wanted that for Liberia too."