NC health officials set up Ebola info website

North Carolina health officials have launched a website with information about Ebola to help raise awareness about safety precautions and to dispel some of the fear and information surrounding the virus.

Posted 4:21 p.m. Oct 17, 2014 — Updated 10:18 p.m. Oct 17, 2014

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina health officials have launched a website with information about Ebola to help raise awareness about safety precautions and to dispel some of the fear and information surrounding the virus.

The site, which can be accessed at www.ncdhhs.gov/ebola, includes fact sheets about the virus, updates from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a list of frequently asked questions.

In briefing the State Emergency Response Commission on Friday, officials from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said the website will include dashboard that will be updated weekly, beginning Tuesday, with a variety of information, including a tally of Ebola inquiries that the state has received and the number of lab tests that have been conducted.

So far, that number is zero.

"I would hope that the likelihood is low (of an Ebola case)," Julie Casani, director of Public Health Preparedness. "While it's low, that doesn't mean we shouldn't be prepared."

Casani told the emergency response commission that the state has been working since July to ensure North Carolina is ready should someone test positive for Ebola.

"That is the rule we are living by. That we should and need to be prepared should something happen here in North Carolina," she said.

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