During the worst Ebola outbreak in history, U.S. colleges are taking extra precaution with African students arriving on campus. The deadly virus has killed over 1,550 people in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, and Liberia.
Although the virus is transmitted strictly through direct contact with bodily fluids of sick people, and not by sitting next to someone in class, extra health checks will be put in place for those entering the U.S. to help stop the epidemic from expanding.
While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have issued no specific recommendations for colleges, some state health departments, including in South Carolina and North Dakota, have spelled out for administrators what symptoms to look for and how to react.
Universities are creating their own precautionary plans against the often-fatal hemorrhagic fever, which causes weakness, vomiting, diarrhea, internal bleeding, and sometimes bleeding from the nose and ears. Current cases total 3,069, with a 52 percent average fatality rate.
Universities in the United Kingdom are also on high alert with the expected arrival of thousands of Nigerian students.
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