CDC director: ‘We can stop Ebola’ outbreak

Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), expressed confidence Sunday that health officials could stop a deadly outbreak of the Ebola virus in Africa.

“Ebola’s scary and it’s understandable that with a deadly disease, people are concerned. But the plain truth is that we can stop Ebola. We know how to control it,” said Frieden on ABC’s “This Week,” “hospital infection control, and stopping it at the source in Africa.”

{mosads}Health officials are working to contain an outbreak of the disease in West Africa, where it has already claimed over 700 lives in recent weeks.

On Saturday, an American infected with the virus arrived in Atlanta, where he will be held under close watch and treated.

A U.S-Africa summit this week that will bring dozens of officials from Africa has sparked further worries about the virus spreading.

President Obama on Friday said that attendees to the conference would undergo screenings before traveling and again in the U.S. to prevent further infections.

On Sunday, Frieden said that it was impossible to “hermetically seal the borders of the U.S.”

“We’re reliant and interdependent with the world for travel, for trade, for economy, for our families and communities,” he added.

Frieden said the CDC was “surging” its response to help officials in Africa contain the problem.

Asked about a possible vaccine, he said that such a development was years away.

“We would love an Ebola vaccine. It would be very helpful especially to protect healthcare workers,” said Frieden. “But even the best case, it’s a long way away and it’s uncertain.