Out of (west) Africa-who lost in the end?

Piero Olliaro,Estrella Lasry,Amanda Tiffany

doi:10.4269/ajtmh.14-0753

Abstract

Out of (west) Africa-who lost in the end?

Highlights

There was a loss for evidence-based public health
On October 29, 2014, 4 days before the annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) to be held in New Orleans, LA, meeting registrants received an e-mail letter from the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals stating “we have requested that any individuals that will be traveling to Louisiana following a trip to the West African countries of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone or have had contact with an Ebola-infected individual remain in a self-quarantine for the 21 days following their relevant travel history. . .we see no use in you traveling to New Orleans to be confined to your room.”
Applying a blanket ban on travel for anyone within 3 weeks of arriving from Guinea, Liberia, or Sierra Leone, independent of the category of risk, was certainly expedient, but profoundly unjust, and an inefficient public health measure. Those of us working in research and public health are tasked with producing evidence to be passed onto policy makers to help them make informed decisions

Summary

Introduction

There was a loss for evidence-based public health. Applying a blanket ban on travel for anyone within 3 weeks of arriving from Guinea, Liberia, or Sierra Leone, independent of the category of risk, was certainly expedient, but profoundly unjust, and an inefficient public health measure. On October 29, 2014, 4 days before the annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) to be held in New Orleans, LA, meeting registrants received an e-mail letter from the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals stating “we have requested that any individuals that will be traveling to Louisiana following a trip to the West African countries of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone or have had contact with an Ebola-infected individual remain in a self-quarantine for the 21 days following their relevant travel history. . .we see no use in you traveling to New Orleans to be confined to your room.” This communication made it clear that those recently in countries experiencing the 2014 Ebola epidemic would not be able to participate in the meeting.

Results

Conclusion