Tom Frieden Says Ebola Stress Test Shows World Unprepared, Defenses Down

Tom Frieden, the former head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and CEO of Resolve to Save Lives Inc., said the Ebola outbreak is a “stress test” that the world is failing, warning that “we’re failing, and that bodes ill for the future.”

“A first case of Ebola virus infection was reported on Tuesday in the United States”

Agence Afrique

Frieden argued the current response is shaped by cuts to U.S. public health efforts, including the Trump administration’s decision to stop paying dues to the World Health Organization, cut more than 3,000 jobs at the CDC, and push out some of the agency’s senior leadership.

South China Morning Post

He also said, “Our defenses are down,” adding, “The WHO needs to be stronger. The CDC needs to be robust.”

In parallel, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday there are 1,077 suspected cases of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, and the article notes partial border closures are in place between Congo, Uganda and Rwanda, complicating coordination of relief and aid.

African officials said earlier this week they had only received pledges meeting a little over half of the $500 million needed to fight the outbreak, according to the Detroit News account.

A first case of Ebola virus infection was reported on Tuesday in the United States, after a patient returned from a trip to Liberia, according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The CDC spokesperson did not reveal the patient's identity or even his nationality, and the infection was confirmed by two laboratories, one of which belongs to the CDC, while the patient began experiencing symptoms on September 24.

The Detroit News

Two days later he sought medical care and was hospitalized four days later in a Dallas hospital where he was placed under quarantine, and the article says Frieden stated the patient did not show any symptoms upon arrival after returning to Texas by plane on September 20.

During a press conference, Dr. Tom Frieden tried to reassure the public that there was no risk that this person could have contaminated passengers on the plane bringing him back to Texas because he did not display any contagious symptoms at the airport.

The Agence Afrique article also states that, unlike influenza, the Ebola virus is not transmitted through the air but by direct contact with contaminated fluids such as blood or saliva.

Both the Detroit News and the South China Morning Post frame Frieden’s remarks around preparedness for the next pandemic, with the South China Morning Post repeating that Frieden called the latest outbreak a “stress test” the world is failing so far.

“Ebola shows world unprepared for pandemic, former CDC head says The world is not “well prepared” for the next pandemic, Tom Frieden, the former head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, citing the current response to the Ebola outbreak and cuts to U”

The Detroit News

Frieden said, “This Ebola outbreak is not going to cause a pandemic, it’s not going to cause a significant risk to large numbers of Americans,” while still warning that the response is a test the world is not doing well at.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention figures cited in the South China Morning Post again place the number of suspected cases at 1,077 for the Bundibugyo strain, and it repeats that partial border closures are in place between Congo, Uganda and Rwanda.

The South China Morning Post also reports that African officials said they had only received pledges meeting a little over half of the US$500 million needed to fight the outbreak, linking funding gaps to the broader preparedness critique.

Taken together with the U.S. case described by Agence Afrique—where the patient was hospitalized in a Dallas hospital and placed under quarantine—the sources depict a chain from global response capacity to domestic containment steps.