Gov. Haley: 'Very low' risk of Ebola in S.C.

Oct. 21--COLUMBIA -- Despite little risk of Ebola in South Carolina, Gov. Nikki Haley said Monday that state officials are continuing to prepare to treat cases of the deadly virus.

"We all hope and know that chances of something like this happening in South Carolina are very low at this point," said Haley during a meeting in Columbia. "But that doesn't matter to us. We want to be ready regardless."

Haley was briefed about Ebola preparations by the directors of four state agencies, South Carolina Adjutant General Bob Livingston, state epidemiologist Dr. Linda Bell, an infectious disease specialist and hospital executives.

Bell said that "widespread transmission of Ebola in the United States is unlikely because of the infection-control practices that we have here."

No cases of the disease have been reported in the state, she said, and "no one is currently being monitored for Ebola in South Carolina."

Every hospital in South Carolina is preparing to handle an initial contact with an Ebola patient, said Thornton Kirby, president and chief executive officer of the South Carolina Hospital Association.

"There have been false alarms in recent days," Kirby said. "That has been a very effective way to do some real-life tests. We are learning things every day and getting better and better at it."

State officials would be able to get results of lab tests for any suspected Ebola patient within four hours, said Catherine Templeton, director of the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.

Templeton said patients infected with Ebola likely would receive care at one of the state's three top trauma centers -- the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, Palmetto Health Richland in Columbia and Greenville Memorial Hospital in Greenville.

"I think we are ready," she said. "If we have a case, we have the people that can treat it and contain it."

Paul Johnson, president of Greenville Memorial, said 50 volunteers at his facility are being trained to deal with Ebola patients.

Dr. Helmut Albrecht, chief of infectious diseases at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, voiced concern about the public's growing anxiety over Ebola. A Liberian man who the first person diagnosed with Ebola in the U.S. died at a Dallas hospital earlier this month and two nurses who cared for him have been diagnosed with the virus.

"The amount of hysteria is getting progressively high," Albrecht said.

Haley said one of the goals of Monday's meeting was to reassure South Carolina residents who are worried about Ebola.

"With all of the chatter across the country about Ebola and what has happened, it is healthy for the public to know what we are doing and why we are doing it," she said.

Follow Kirk Brown on Twitter @KirkBrown_AIM

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