Sixteen people in Northeast Ohio who had contact with Ebola patient Amber Vinson are being monitored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as by health departments in two counties, officials said at a press conference in Akron this morning.
None have symptoms of Ebola, Summit County medical director Dr. Margo Erme said. Twelve of those people are in Summit County, and four are in Cuyahoga County, she said.
“To end up: no Ebola disease in Summit County, contacts are not infectious or a risk to people who come into contact with them, there is no need to cancel events or schools, and we are monitoring the process minute by minute,” Erme said.
One person is under strict quarantine, Erme said. She was not able to specify how many of the other 15 contacts had decided to quarantine themselves voluntarily as a precaution.
The CDC is now trying to reach passengers on Frontier Airlines flight 1142, which Vinson took from Dallas to Cleveland on Oct. 10.
Vinson did not show any usual initial Ebola symptoms – such as joint or muscle aches – while in Northeast Ohio. But she told health officials she felt “funny” while visiting family in Tallmadge, the CDC’s Dr. Chris Braden said.
“There is some indication that she wasn’t feeling well while she was here, although the symptoms weren’t specific or pronounced,” Braden said. “She rested for a long time on some days, she said she felt funny, those types of things, but nothing specific.”
Vinson did not try on any clothes while visiting Coming Attractions bridal store in Akron on Saturday, Oct. 11, Erme said. Nevertheless, Summit County health workers are still working to contact customers who visited the shop that day between noon and 3:30 p.m.
