If needed, Harborview volunteers to take American Ebola patients evacuated from West Africa

KCPQ-TV



SEATTLE -- At the request of the Centers for Disease Control, Harborview Medical Center in Seattle has volunteered to take U.S. victims of Ebola evacuated from West Africa officials said Monday.

No evacuees are expected in the immediate future in Seattle, but Harborview is taking steps to prepare if the need arises.

Dr. Jeff Duchin with Seattle King County Public Health said Harborview is providing a service to the nation by stepping up to help those on the front line of the Ebola fight.

Duchin said the region has been planning and exercising for isolation and quarantine for years and officials are ready to rapidly deploy a plan if needed.



Ebola is not spread through air. It is only spread through direct contact with bodily fluids. Patients are not contagious unless they are symptomatic.