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I think from the very beginning they havent been completely forthright with us. Theyve so wanted to downplay this that they really I dont think have been very accurate in their description of the disease. For example, they say, Dont worry, its only mixture of bodily fluids through direct contact. So what are you thinking? Im thinking like AIDS, you dont get AIDS at a cocktail party so my level of alarm goes down. And if I am treating somebody or looking at them around, Im thinking, oh no its like AIDS, I am not going to get it. But it really isnt like AIDs. And then theyll say in a little lower voice, Oh, but direct contact can be three feet from somebody. But if you ask any American on the street, Do you think direct contact is standing three feet from somebody? Because they so much wanted to downplay that We were in charge, we know everything about this, I think they made mistakes in not really being accurate about talking about the disease.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), interview with Bloomberg News. Oct. 16, 2014

This is an interesting set of remarks from Sen. Rand Paul regarding the administrations response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Did the administration suggest Ebola was like AIDS? Did it play down the possibility of direct contact?

Before entering politics, Paul was an ophthalmologist, so his expertise in medicine might carry extra weight with some readers.

First, lets look at the warnings and cautions posted on the White House Web site.

Now, here are the Centers for Disease Control exposure risk levels. Note that a low risk exposure is being within three feet of a patient with Ebola. The Ebola virus, as far as is known, does not circulate in tiny droplets that hover in the air, such as influenza. But an Ebola patient could cough, sneeze or spit, transmitting bodily fluids that might land on a person nearby and then youmight get Ebola if the virus finds a break in your skin or you touch your eye and it goes in through a mucous membrane.

High-risk exposures

A high-risk exposure includes any of the following:

Low-risk exposures

A low-risk exposure includes any of the following

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Fact Checker: Rand Pauls claim that the White House suggested Ebola transmission is like AIDS