On Monday, 6 October 2014, the Spanish government confirmed the first reported case of Ebola in Europe. Spanish authorities have responded to the situation and are taking appropriate action to limit the risk to the population. They will continue to monitor the situation.
Ebola is a rare, serious disease that is spread by direct contact with an infected person's blood or body fluid, contaminated objects or infected animals. Arcadia staff members are closely monitoring information from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO) and other sources related to Ebola, but any risk of exposure to our students remains very low based on the way the disease is transmitted. The CDC continues to advise that careful hygiene and avoiding contact with blood, body fluids, animals and raw meat is an important preventive measure during travel.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) monitors and provides for travel warnings related to a range of transmissible diseases. Currently no travel warning is in place for travel to Spain. There is an ongoing travel warning urging US residents to avoid nonessential travel to several countries in West Africa.
Students planning to travel at any time during their semester are asked to please make the Arcadia in-country staff aware of their travel itinerary. Arcadia staff will continue to monitor developments related to Ebola and travel safety as they occur, and will provide additional updates as needed. For any questions related to Ebola or health and safety during travel in general, please speak with the Arcadia in-country staff or Arlene Snyder, Director of Health, Safety, and Security (snydera@arcadia.edu).