Houston Chronicle - US Must Be Leader in Ebola Fight, Strategy

Op-Ed

By Michael McCaul

Once again, Texans have been on the front lines dealing with the latest threat to the United States, the Ebola virus. Over the past month, we witnessed the tragedy of the first death from Ebola in the country and felt the shock when two American health-care workers were infected in Texas. But we also saw courage from our state leaders, hospitals and health-care workers as they dealt with this deadly illness.

The risk of an Ebola outbreak in the United States remains extremely low. However, new cases continue to be reported in West Africa. Last month, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, estimated that cases in Liberia were doubling every 15-20 days and those in Sierra Leone were doubling every 30-40 days.

If the epidemic is not brought under control, an estimated 1.4 million people from Liberia and Sierra Leone could be infected by mid-January, according to the CDC. As was demonstrated by the Homeland Security Committee hearing convened in Dallas earlier this month, it is vital we develop a coordinated strategy to combat Ebola.

The strategy should address three key components: attacking the virus at its source, travel restrictions and finding a remedy and cure.

First, like any threat to the homeland, the priority in combating Ebola remains eliminating it at the source before it enters our borders. Our government must be more proactive in the fight to prevent the spread of Ebola from West Africa. That means the U.S. and the international community must focus efforts in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, where the virus is currently running rampant. It is the only way to truly stop this outbreak from turning into a global pandemic.

Second, we should also restrict travel from West Africa until the virus is tamed. It is smart the Department of Homeland Security is now routing all travelers originating from Ebola-affected countries through airports with enhanced screening measures in place. However, I will continue to urge the Obama administration to temporarily suspend all visas of individuals from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea until the outbreak of the Ebola virus is under control within these countries.

Furthermore, government policies need to encourage and incentivize individuals who have come into contact with persons infected by Ebola to take all precautions.

Following the case of the Doctors Without Borders volunteer who was diagnosed with Ebola after his return to the U.S., some states are implementing mandatory quarantining and the CDC has revised its own policies. While there must always be a balance between personal responsibility and government involvement, additional quarantining measures are a prudent step. The CDC should strengthen its policy to include a requirement for in-home quarantining for those who have been exposed to the virus.

Finally, the Obama administration must continue to place a priority on finding ways to help detect, treat and cure Ebola and other biological threats that may arise. This means developing a better rapid diagnostic test that could be used at our ports-of-entry, in our hospitals and in the field in Africa; producing more therapeutic treatments, like the experimental drug Z-Mapp; and stepping up efforts to develop a vaccine. These medical countermeasures need to be accessible to those on the front lines - health-care workers, military service members and first responders.

The administration's response to combating Ebola within the United States has thus far been challenged and disorganized. While I'm pleased that the president appointed someone to coordinate federal Ebola response efforts, we need more than a politically connected Ebola "czar." We need a leader who understands the threat.

To head up this strategy and protect Americans in the future, we need a permanent adviser with strong medical credentials for all bio-threats. Both the Bush and Clinton administrations had a Special Assistant to the President for Biodefense Policy to focus all federal efforts on the range of biological threats we face, including disease outbreaks like Ebola. The president should re-establish this permanent position.

America must be a global leader on combating this disease. While there is no magic pill that can stop Ebola, preventing an outbreak in the United States is possible with continued vigilance and a coordinated, all-of-government response.

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