President Obama Will Speak With CDC Officials in Atlanta Tuesday

President Barack Obama will be in Atlanta on Tuesday, receiving the latest information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the west African Ebola outbreak and the Enterovirus-D68 respiratory illness which has plagued the Midwest in recent weeks, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

The president will be given a briefing on the Ebola virus, discuss the country’s response to the outbreak, and thank health workers who have been battling the disease in west Africa and treating American aid workers who have contracted the disease. Two of those American aid workers, Nancy Writebol and Dr. Kent Brantly, were treated at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.

Since the Ebola outbreak began in December, 2013, the virus has infected 4,846 people in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria, and Senegal. 2,375 of those people have died, making this outbreak of Ebola the worst in history.

CDC officials will also get the president up to speed on the outbreak of Enterovirus-D68, which has been infecting schoolchildren in Midwestern states but has been reported by health care providers in Cobb County. Enterovirus D-68 is related to the common cold and shares similar symptoms, but this strain of enterovirus can cause significant respiratory infections and may require hospitalization.

According to CNN, the virus itself usually is not fatal, but it’s usually not that common, either. Nobody is sure as to why the virus has suddenly flared up in the Midwest, affecting children in Missouri, Illinois and Iowa.

The AJC reports that the president will not use the Atlanta visit for political purposes, and will leave the city Tuesday evening to get an update on the Islamic terrorist organisation ISIS from U.S. Central Command in Tampa.