Public Comment

It appears that Ebola is now a major threat to the world human population. Ebola can be as contagious as the common cold (it can be contracted from a person sneezing on you), but more deadly with a mortality rate of up to 90%. This outbreak is occurring in one of the most densely populated and underdeveloped parts of the world, namely Western Africa. 

A newly infected person can fly to the USA within 18 hours. The USA's response to containing the virus is to provide travelers with a questioner, and to check for fever. This policy is reckless and warrants consideration for more severe travel restrictions. 

I wish to share with you my experience in dealing with African viruses. I am the owner of B Bryan Preserve Conservation and Breeding Center which is located on the north coast of California. We have rare African Hoof Stock, which include the Rothschild's Giraffe, Grevy's Zebra, Hartmann's Mountain Zebra and several Antelope species. Four years ago I explored importing the rare Cape Mountain Zebra. The species numbers only 400 and are only found in South Africa. What I ran into was a mountain of federal government regulations which ultimately prevented us from importing the animals because of cost. The USA government required us to quarantine the animals not once but twice. We were told to quarantine the animals in Europe and New York for 30 days each. The quarantine was required for the Brucellosis, Tuberculosis and African Horse Sickness. 

When we apply my experience with requirements for people coming into the USA from Western Africa I am baffled as to the lack of uniformity. I can only conclude that we are dealing with either politics, economics and/or incompetence on the part of our government. I recommend we require quarantine of all humans coming in from infected parts of Africa until the virus is contained. My position is not alarming but more pragmatic in regards to risk, and I recommend all concerned persons contact their government representatives.