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Ebola outbreak currently poses no threat to MSU programs

August 27, 2014

With the recent Ebola outbreak in the West African nations of Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Nigeria causing an estimated 1,427 deaths as of Aug. 22, MSU wants to clarify that no students studying abroad are threatened by it.

“We don’t currently have any programs in the affected region and so there really hasn’t been any changes that we’ve had to make with our study abroad program,” MSU spokesman Jason Cody said.

MSU currently is not taking any extra health precautions due to the isolated nature of the disease.

Jessica Arnold, a social relations and policy and international relations senior, studied advanced Swahili abroad in East Africa over the summer and said she only was prepared for the usual diseases that could be encountered in the region.

“Really the only health concern that we were told about beforehand was malaria, and that we weren’t in an area where we would need to take a yellow fever shot and there really weren’t that many additional health concerns traveling to East Africa because it is a very developed part of Africa,” Arnold said.

On Aug. 7, the U.S. Department of State issued a travel warning for Liberia and on Aug. 13 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a travel warning advising “all U.S. residents to avoid nonessential travel to Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia because of an unprecedented outbreak of Ebola,” which the OSA tentatively is viewing. Nigeria only just experienced its first signs of outbreak.

“Of course we’re monitoring the situation, staying closely in tune with both State Department guidance and CDC guidance, which is where we’ll take our cue from,” Cody said. “But no, at this point without any students in the affected region nor any plans to send any there, it’s not really something (where) we’ve had to change any programs, or make any special messaging to students or faculty, or anything like that.”

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