U.S. Screens Airport Travelers After CDC Says American Contracted Ebola in Democratic Republic of Congo

The United States announced it would bolster precautions to prevent Ebola spread by screening air travelers from outbreak-hit areas and temporarily suspending visa services after a CDC briefing said one American in the Democratic Republic of Congo had contracted the virus following exposure "to their work" there.

“The Trump administration announced Monday it's adding additional screening measures and restricting people who don't have U”

CBS News

Satish Pillai, the health agency's Ebola response incident manager, said, "The person developed symptoms over the weekend and tested positive late Sunday," and efforts were underway to transport the individual to Germany for treatment.

CBS News

The CDC said it was attempting to evacuate six additional people for health monitoring, while the measures also included entry restrictions on non-US passport holders who had travelled to Uganda, DRC or South Sudan within the past 21 days.

The World Health Organization declared the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo an international health emergency, and the CDC said it would continue evaluating the evolving situation and may adjust public health measures as additional information becomes available.

US President Donald Trump said he was "concerned" by the outbreak but that "I think that it's been confined right now to Africa" as the new airport screening and travel rules took effect.

The CDC order described a 30-day entry ban for foreign travelers who had been in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan in the past 21 days, while the order was signed by Jay Bhattacharya, the director of the National Institutes of Health who is also serving as a top CDC official.

Satish Pillai told reporters Monday that the relocations were meant "to ensure that they received optimal care or observation," as the CDC said it was working across the agency to ensure appropriate therapeutics were available, including post-exposure prophylaxis.

CNA

Krutika Kuppalli, an infectious diseases specialist who has worked in Ebola outbreaks and formerly worked for the World Health Organization, said travel bans don’t stop spread of viruses and can impede containment, telling STAT, "We have repeatedly seen during H1N1, Covid-19, mpox, and the 2014 Ebola outbreak" that broad travel bans do little to stop spread.

The CDC and DHS said earlier on Monday they would introduce enhanced public health screening and monitoring for travelers arriving from the region, and the measures were to last for an initial 30 days.

The Guardian reported the CDC assessed 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" as the US implemented enhanced screening and monitoring.

The CDC confirmed the American case and said the individual was being evacuated to Germany, while six other people were also in the process of being evacuated to receive treatment or monitoring, with Pillai saying there are about 25 people working in the US office in DRC.

“US announces some airport screening for Ebola, one American infected The CDC said it was also implementing entry restrictions on non-US passport holders if they had traveled to Uganda, DRC or South Sudan within the past 21 days”

Hindustan Times

The CDC said it was sending another person from Atlanta, Georgia, and that it was introducing enhanced "port health protection response activities, contact tracing, laboratory testing capacity, and hospital readiness nationwide" for travelers arriving from Uganda, the DRC or South Sudan.

The CDC said the immediate risk to the general US public remained low, and it advised anyone who had travelled through the affected countries to monitor CDC travel health notices and seek medical attention if they developed symptoms consistent with Ebola.

The outbreak figures cited in the Guardian included 10 confirmed cases, 336 suspected, and 88 deaths in the DRC, and the report said among the dead were at least four health workers.

The Guardian also noted the outbreak was caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, with a mortality rate of 25% to 50% and no targeted vaccine or treatment, as the US continued to coordinate screening, monitoring, and containment efforts.