By Joe Rutland

(TXMO News) - U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar said on Friday that he was confident in federal, state and local government and health care department responses concerning the Ebola virus situation in Texas.

“I am confident in the protective precautions that the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and CBP (U.S. Customs and Border Protection) are implementing around the country and at our ports of entry,”

“I am confident in the protective precautions that the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and CBP (U.S. Customs and Border Protection) are implementing around the country and at our ports of entry,” Cuellar said in an interview with the Texas Medical Observer.

Cuellar, who represents the 28^th Congressional District that spans from South Texas to portions of San Antonio, said he is well aware of his constituents’ concerns regarding Ebola.

“In regard to my district, and the border in South Texas, CBP and the CDC are working together to develop policies, procedures, and protocols to identify travelers and risk public exposure of contagious diseases like Ebola at all ports of entry, including the border,” Cuellar said. “CBP officials will notify CDC immediately should they notice any symptoms in passengers related to this virus.”

As far as the State of Texas’ response from Gov. Rick Perry’s office is concerned, Cuellar freely admitted that “this is no easy task for any state to deal with.”

“Over the last few weeks, the federal and state governments have assisted local health departments to find, assess, and assist everyone who came into contact with the first known Ebola patient in Dallas,” Cuellar said, referring to Thomas Eric Duncan who died from contracting the virus.

“There were a total of 48 people who came in contact with the patient and they were all monitored regularly by officials, as well as themselves, for 21 days in case they showed any symptoms of the virus,” he said. “This cooperation with the state of Texas and the federal government is what’s needed to stamp out Ebola in the United States.”

Cuellar said great strides have been taken by federal government officials to inform not only health care workers in Texas, but the general population, about facts surrounding Ebola.

“Cooperation between federal, state and local governments has helped prepare thousands of health and public service workers with the necessary information to assess high- and low-exposure patients and know when isolation procedures are necessary,” he said. “The federal government has given instructions to state and local authorities and hospitals on how to deal with infected or exposed persons.”

In other Texas-related Ebola virus news:

Nina Pham, a nurse at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas who contracted the Ebola virus while attending to Duncan, was pronounced free of the virus on Friday. She met with President Barack Obama at the White House in Washington, and returned to Fort Worth late Friday night. Pham had been in isolation at the National Institute of Health’s Clinical Center in Bethesda, Md., where she had been since Oct. 16.

“News that Ms. Pham is free of the Ebola virus is certainly reason to celebrate and I ask all Texans to join me in wishing her a full and speedy recovery,” Gov. Rick Perry said in a statement in Austin. “We thank her for her heroism and selflessness in the battle against Ebola. Rest assured, Texas will not let our guard down in doing everything necessary to protect our state and our citizens from this dangerous disease.”

http://txmonews.com/2014/10/cuellar-expresses-confidence-in-steps-taken-around-ebola-virus-in-us/2/