By Mustafa Caglayan
NEW YORK
A debate about how politicians are responding to possible Ebola cases in the U.S. is intensifying among officials and medical experts, with the threat sparking controversy about several states' stringent rules going beyond federal guidelines.
The battle of words was triggered on Saturday when a nurse, who was quarantined in a New Jersey hospital after returning from an Ebola-affected country, lashed out at the treatment she received.
In an article published by the Dallas Morning News, nurse Kaci Hickox wrote that being quarantined in New Jersey "is not a situation I would wish on anyone, and I am scared for those who will follow me."
Hickox, who was caring for Ebola patients while on assignment with Doctors Without Borders in Sierra Leone, became the first person to be treated under a new set of joint New York - New Jersey protocols.
They require 21-day mandatory quarantines for those entering the states if they had direct contact with victims of the deadly disease in West Africa -- even if he or she is uninfected.
The incubation period for Ebola can be anywhere between two to 21 days, depending on the time of infection and the onset of symptoms.
"I am scared about how health care workers will be treated at airports when they declare that they have been fighting Ebola in West Africa. I am scared that, like me, they will arrive and see a frenzy of disorganization, fear and, most frightening, quarantine," the nurse wrote.
She had tested negative for the virus on the first day of her quarantine.
Hickox's criticism echoed concerns expressed by federal and civil medical institutions that the tough isolation rules for anyone who had contact with an Ebola patient could discourage volunteers to join the global fight against the epidemic.
Speaking to American television network Fox on Sunday, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said that health-care workers should not be put in a position which would make it uncomfortable for them to volunteer to go to Ebola-affected regions.
"The best way to protect us is to stop the epidemic in Africa and we need those health-care workers to do that," Anthony S. Fauci said.
The New York-based medical humanitarian group, Doctors Without Borders, also warned that strict quarantine measures could hamper efforts to find a lasting solution to the crisis.
"Forced quarantine of asymptomatic health workers returning from fighting the Ebola outbreak in West Africa is not grounded on scientific evidence and could undermine efforts to curb the epidemic at its source," the organization said in a statement it issued on Monday.
According to medical experts, the New York - New Jersey protocols are "unnecessary," as the federal guidelines assume that someone is not contagious until Ebola symptoms appear.
Two persons who have received a great deal of criticism since the beginning of the debate are governors Andrew Cuomo of New York and Chris Christie of New Jersey, who both stood by the quarantine policy.
Speaking in several joint press conferences, the governors said that federal health guidelines were inadequate and that quarantining would be a national policy "sooner or later."
"We cannot count on a voluntary system when you're dealing with something as serious as this," Christie said on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the governors' tough stances sparked criticism and disapproval from the Whitehouse, the United Nations and civil liberties groups.
"Returning health workers are exceptional people who are giving of themselves for humanity," U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Monday during a visit to the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
"They should not be subjected to restrictions that are not based on science. Those who develop infections should be supported, not stigmatized," he continued.
Washington reportedly voiced its concerns over the controversial quarantines to the governors of New York and New Jersey, saying that the isolation rules could have a negative impact on the global fight against the epidemic.
"We have let the governors of New York, New Jersey and other states know that we have concerns over the unintended consequences of policies that are not grounded in science and may have an effect on efforts to combat Ebola at its source in West Africa," President Barack Obama's office said, according to U.S. media reports.
Amid growing pressure, and in a move considered as backpedalling, the two states on Monday announced they revised the controversial protocol.
They now allow health-care workers who have been in contact with Ebola patients, but have tested negative for the deadly virus, to return to their homes.
However, they will still remain in quarantine while receiving twice-daily monitoring.
Hours after the revision, the New Jersey Governor's office said that the nurse quarantined at a New Jersey hospital was allowed to transfer to her hometown, Maine.
Doctors Without Borders also confirmed to the Anadolu Agency that Hickox was released from hospital on Monday.
Ebola has killed more than 4,900 people and infected as many as 10,141 others, according to the latest figures from the World Health Organization.
Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone are the countries hardest hit by the 2014 outbreak of the virus.
Symptoms include a fever of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) or higher, headache, nausea and diarrhea or abdominal pain.
Victims can take up to 21 days to show symptoms and become infectious.
The virus is spread by direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person.
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