The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will conduct contact tracing of individuals in Sierra Leone, including several American citizens, who may have come into contact with an American health worker who has become infected with the Ebola virus.
The patient returned to the United States by medevac and has been admitted to the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center for treatment, the agency said in a written statement.
Although none of the individuals currently being monitored in Sierra Leone have tested positive for Ebola, they will voluntarily self-isolate and remain under direct active monitoring for the 21-day incubation period before returning to the United States.
In the event that another Ebola case is confirmed, the CDC and the State Department are developing contingency plans for returning the other American health care workers to the United States by noncommercial air transport.