STATESBORO — Members of the Georgia Southern University Pandemic Influenza and Emergency Infectious Disease Committee met last week to discuss community and campus preparedness and response related to infectious diseases such as the ebola virus and influenza.
University Health Services Medical Director and Staff Physician Brian DeLoach said the university has an updated response plan.
“We have a robust triage process in place in our facility to identify and assess persons who present ‘at risk’ based on travel and recent contact history,” DeLoach said. “We have a
plan in place that dictates how we would respond to a situation in our facility.”
In addition to discussing a response plan, DeLoach shared information from a recent meeting at East Georgia Regional Medical Center with hospital and local health-department officials and local public-safety and emergency services.
“If we see a patient who is considered to be at risk based on travel history and the presence of symptoms compatible with ebola, then our plan is to call our local EMS, and that patient would then be transported to East Georgia Regional Medical Center or another appropriate facility for further assessment,” DeLoach said.
DeLoach noted that each patient who is seen at the university’s health center, regardless of the reason, would be asked about their travel history within the last 21 days, which is a new recommendation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The meeting also addressed the travels of international students. DeLoach reminded the committee that ebola has a 21-day incubation period, and that all international students have been here longer than 21 days, so the current risk to the campus community is very low.  
Earlier this month, the CDC and the Texas Health Department confirmed the first ebola case diagnosed in the United States. The patient later died.