CDC finally issues Ebola guidance for travelers and students

   CDC finally posted guidelines for travelers regarding the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, August 29, well after students have returned to campuses and schools all over the U.S. from summer travels.  In The Chronicle of Higher Education today, one epidemiologist had this to say,

"These guidelines reinforce what a lot of colleges are doing already, but it would have been nice if they’d come out two weeks ago," when students were arriving and health centers were unsure what to do, said Craig M. Roberts, an epidemiologist with the University of Wisconsin at Madison’s student health service."

   Students are advised to monitor their health for 3 weeks if they have been in "countries where the Ebola outbreaks are occurring?"  But CDC does not give anyone a clue what those countries are and never mentions Senegal where the first case was brought into the country with subsequent in country infections.
   CDC also advises colleges and universities to postpone all non-essential travel to these three countries until further notice, but no such warning for Nigeria -- all education travel is still open to Nigeria with precautions to protect yourself. Yes, that's right.  This includes tips to
   But the most important legal aspect of the announcement is typical of most Department of State warnings about travel to other countries, and here, they have crafted the warning to cover the risk of travelers being detained due to a government-issued quarantine:

The US Department of State takes action to protect US citizens who travel outside the US through a number of diplomatic channels. However, in the event of an outbreak, any country has the right to enact measures (such as quarantine of exposed people, isolation of sick people, and screening of people entering or exiting the country for sickness or disease exposure) to protect its citizens and to prevent the spread of an outbreak to other countries. These measures may infringe on the individual rights of those who appear to be infected with or exposed to a disease of public health concern—including visiting US citizens. The ability of the U.S. Department of State to intervene in such situations is limited. See the US Department of State’s Emergency Resources page for more information.

   U.S. citizens traveling abroad are often taken by surprise that the civil rights they enjoy in the U.S. are not practiced in many other countries.  Although human rights in international law is expected to be observed in every country, the concept of human rights may vary from one culture to the next, and many countries do not feel bound by international law despite their signatures and ratifications of treaties.  No doubt one of the reasons that the television series, Locked Up Abroad, has enjoyed so much success.