The United States announced on Monday that it is strengthening measures to prevent the spread of the Ebola disease. US President Donald Trump told reporters that is “concerned” about the outbreak, but he added that in his opinion, the disease is “currently limited to Africa”. This was reported by the AFP agency on Tuesday night.
- The United States has tightened measures against Ebola, and President Trump has expressed concern.
- Foreigners after staying in Uganda, DRC or South Sudan have been restricted from entering.
- An American infected with Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo will be transferred to Germany.
- The CDC assesses the risk to the public as low and is mobilizing resources.
- The WHO has declared an international emergency due to the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola.
In addition to screening passengers at airports in the United States impose a restriction on entry into the country for people who do not have a US passport if they have been to Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) or South Sudan in the past 21 days.
Satish Pillai, who coordinates the Ebola response at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told the briefing that an American working in the DRC was also infected with the Ebola virus. “The person had symptoms over the weekend and tested positive on Sunday evening,” Pillai said, adding that work is underway to fly the US citizen to Germany for treatment.
Pillai added that The United States is also trying to evacuate six more people to monitor their health. According to Pillai, there are about 25 people working in the US office in the DRC and that the CDC is considering a request to send another chief technical coordinator.
“CDC currently rates the immediate risk to the general US public as low, but we will continue to evaluate the evolving situation and may adjust public health measures as more information becomes available,” the health agency said in a statement. The United States, under President Trump, formally withdrew from the WHO this year.
In recent days, US officials have avoided answering questions about such as cutting USAID funding – which played a key role in responses to previous Ebola outbreaks – affected the ability to monitor and manage the spread of the virus.
The CDC said that cooperates with international partners and health authorities in affected countries and that it will continue to deploy personnel to support infection control, contact tracing and laboratory testing. The US Department of State at the same time announced the mobilization of $13 million for immediate relief.
However, according to Georgetown University’s Matthew Kavanagh, the US response is “disappointing”. He described the adopted travel restrictions as “theater rather than effective measures to protect public health”. He added that during previous Ebola epidemics, rapid coordination between USAID, the CDC and US-funded NGOs led to a quick response and stop the spread. This time, according to him, the reaction is delayed and the administration is “catching up with the development of the situation.”
The measures, released by CDC affiliates, come at a time when The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared an international health emergency in connection with the occurrence of a rare strain of the Ebola virus in the DRC.
WHO stated that the Ebola disease was caused by a variant of the Bundibugyo virus, for which the WHO has not yet approved a vaccine. The Zaire variant was mainly spread in Africa in the past. According to the US National Institutes of Health, Bundibugyo has a lower mortality rate – at 37 percent -, while up to 90 percent of those infected succumb to the Zaire variant.
Ebola is a highly contagious viral disease with a high mortality rate that regularly occurs in the DRC, especially in remote regions with limited access to health care. It is transmitted by contact with the blood, body fluids or organs of infected animals, especially bats, which are considered natural hosts.
