Obama ramps up Ebola virus effort

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama embarks on a two-day U.S. road trip Tuesday to assess and amplify his government's response to two unconnected overseas emergencies -- the Ebola outbreak in Africa and Islamic terrorists in Iraq and Syria.

On Tuesday Obama will announce significant new U.S. efforts to combat the Ebola epidemic, which has moved quickly across the western part of Africa and sent governments there scrambling to respond. The plan, which he'll announce at the Atlanta headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, includes new military assistance to the region and an increase in trained medical professionals sent to help.

On Wednesday, Obama heads further south to assess his mission against ISIS at U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Florida.

Ebola's spread is unrelated to the U.S. mission to degrade ISIS terrorists in Iraq and Syria. But both have prompted worry among Americans about their personal safety and led to charges the White House isn't doing enough to combat the hazards.

The dual foreign plagues have yet to pose an immediate threat to the United States homeland, the White House says, though each has claimed the lives of Americans abroad. And officials say both Ebola and ISIS could grow to become unmanageable problems if action isn't taken now to stamp them out.

The President's stop Tuesday at the CDC comes amid escalating criticism from health experts on the global response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, where almost 2,500 people have died.

At the U.S. public health agency Obama will be briefed on the outbreak and speak to officials there about how the U.S. is responding. Afterwards he'll announce new U.S. commitments in combating the virus' spread.

Working through the Defense Department, the U.S. will plan and construct treatment centers that could house up to 1,700 beds, administration officials said. With a U.S. general leading the effort from Liberia's capital of Monrovia, American military personnel in the region could increase by 3,000.

Medics and other uniformed professionals will work to train up to 500 health care workers per week in identifying and caring for people with Ebola.

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Obama ramps up Ebola virus effort

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