The United States on Monday announced a series of new measures aimed at preventing the spread of Ebola, including enhanced airport screening for travelers arriving from affected regions and a temporary suspension of visa services.
The steps, outlined by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), follow the World Health Organization’s decision to declare the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) an international public health emergency.
During a briefing, CDC Ebola response incident manager Satish Pillai confirmed that an American working in the DRC had contracted the virus after an exposure linked to their work in the country.
“The individual developed symptoms over the weekend and tested positive late Sunday,” Pillai said, adding that arrangements were being made to transfer the patient to Germany for treatment.
He also said the United States was working to evacuate six additional people for health monitoring.
According to Pillai, around 25 staff members are currently based at the CDC’s field office in the DRC, and the agency is preparing to deploy an additional senior technical coordinator to support the response effort.
“At this time, CDC assesses 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 additional information becomes available,” the agency said in a statement.
Alongside airport screening measures, the CDC announced entry restrictions for non-US passport holders who have traveled to Uganda, the DRC, or South Sudan within the previous 21 days.
Meanwhile, the US Embassy in Kampala said it had temporarily suspended all visa services and had informed affected applicants.
Concerns over the US response
There is currently no approved vaccine or targeted treatment for the strain driving the latest outbreak of the highly contagious hemorrhagic fever.
According to figures released Sunday by Congolese Health Minister Samuel-Roger Kamba, 91 reported deaths are suspected to be linked to the current surge in infections.
Authorities have recorded around 350 suspected cases so far. Most patients are between the ages of 20 and 39, and more than 60 percent are women.
The outbreak comes months after the United States, under President Donald Trump, formally withdrew from the World Health Organization (WHO).
In recent days, US officials have largely sidestepped questions about whether cuts to the US Agency for International Development (USAID) — which played a major role in previous Ebola responses — have weakened current efforts to monitor and contain the outbreak.
CDC officials have stressed that they remain in close coordination with international partners and health authorities in affected countries.
The agency said Monday that its response would include continued deployment of CDC personnel to support containment operations, as well as assistance with contact tracing and laboratory testing.
Separately, the US State Department announced it had committed $13 million in emergency assistance to support immediate response efforts.
Still, some public health experts say the administration’s actions have fallen short.
Matthew Kavanagh, director of Georgetown University’s Center for Global Health Policy and Politics, described the response so far as “disappointing,” arguing that travel bans are “more theater than effective public health measures.”
“The administration claimed it could negotiate bilateral deals and replace the capacity of WHO with domestic efforts. This outbreak clearly shows that is a failed strategy,” he told AFP.
Kavanagh noted that previous Ebola outbreaks were contained through coordinated efforts involving USAID, the CDC, and US-funded nonprofit organizations, enabling rapid response and containment.
This time, he said, “we’re weeks into an outbreak and only finding out about it after hundreds of cases and major spread, including to the capital city of Uganda.”
“The Trump administration is playing catch-up,” he added.
AFP
