US Citizen Infected with Ebola in Congo

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed an American working in the Democratic Republic of Congo has tested positive for Ebola, as the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a “public health emergency of international concern.”

The Africa CDC believes the outbreak has caused over 100 deaths in the DRC and Uganda.

An international charity, Serge, reported that a Christian missionary physician, Dr. Peter Stafford, had “tested positive” after presenting symptoms consistent with the virus.

Dr. Stafford’s wife, Dr. Rebekah Stafford, and another physician are being monitored for signs of the virus but are currently asymptomatic.

The couple’s four children are also being monitored.

The WHO warned that the high positivity rate and increasing number of cases and deaths across health zones point toward “a potentially much larger outbreak.”

Dr. Jean Kaseya, director-general of the Africa CDC, stated that currently, there have been more than 100 deaths due to this outbreak, which is not acceptable.

The Africa CDC declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security, which allows the group to coordinate responses across the continent.

Relief officials warned that years of war and aid cuts have deepened a humanitarian crisis of staggering scale in the DRC.

The CDC invoked Title 42, a public health law that restricts entry into the US during outbreaks of communicable diseases, for at least 30 days starting Monday.

Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, chief executive officer of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, says that restricting immigration can stem the spread of an infection but only if measures are coupled with exit screening from affected countries and with attention to human rights.

Dr. Marrazzo stated that pathogens don’t recognize passports, and singling out non-US passport holders is not an effective solution.

The CDC assessed the immediate risk to the US public as “low” but added that officials would track the evolving situation.

There have been 395 suspected cases and 106 associated deaths in the DRC and Uganda, according to the Africa CDC.

US health officials are working to move seven people from the Central African country to Germany, including the American national who tested positive for the virus.

The WHO said the outbreak is affecting the country’s remote northeastern Ituri province.

In neighboring Uganda, two laboratory-confirmed cases, including one death, have been reported in the capital, Kampala.

The latest outbreak is being driven by the Bundibugyo strain, one of several viruses that can cause Ebola disease.

The WHO has called the outbreak “extraordinary” as there are currently no approved treatments or vaccines specific to the Bundibugyo virus.

Ebola symptoms include fever, muscle pain, rash, and sometimes bleeding.

The virus is transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids, including the handling of contaminated materials or someone who has died from the disease.

The fatality rate involving the Bundibugyo strain is estimated to be between 25% and 40%, according to Médecins Sans Frontières.

Aid workers and health professionals in the region called on the international community to strengthen response efforts to the outbreak.

Dr. Patient Mazirane, medical director at the Universelle Clinic in Bunia, appealed to all people and organizations capable of supporting this battle against the infection.

Starting Monday, US health officials will enforce a range of mechanisms to try to curb the Ebola outbreak, including enhancing public health screenings for people arriving from affected regions.

The CDC is deploying resources from the agency’s offices to help with efforts including surveillance, contact tracing, and laboratory testing.

International coordination is being ramped up to prevent the epidemic’s spread as experts warn of “extremely concerning” conditions.

The DRC’s health minister, Dr. Samuel Roger Kamba, said Sunday that three treatment centers were being opened in the affected region to increase capacity amid the outbreak.

About 7 metric tons of emergency medical supplies arrived in Bunia on Sunday to help scale up frontline response efforts, according to the WHO.

Health workers navigating a medical system depleted by hostilities in the DRC are unable to offer adequate care to patients, according to Oxfam.

Dr. Manenji Mangudu, Oxfam DRC country director, stated that there are already deaths in the community, and when people die at home, it means there are many more undetected cases.

In Uganda, the two confirmed cases in Kampala have no known connection to each other, which is often a warning sign that the outbreak in the DRC is larger than health authorities can currently see, said Adrian Esterman, professor and chair of biostatistics at Adelaide University.

The US embassy in Kampala announced Monday that it had temporarily paused all visa services in light of the ongoing Ebola outbreak.

WHO said that four health workers were among the suspected deaths reported from the affected area.

Dr. Matt Mason, senior lecturer for the School of Health at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia, said this raises serious concerns about gaps in infection prevention and control and the potential for amplification within health facilities, leading to the wider community.

This is the 17th Ebola outbreak in the DRC since the virus was first identified in 1976, according to the WHO.

The country is particularly prone to Ebola outbreaks in part because the virus’ “natural reservoir” is the fruit bat, which are found within the DRC’s forested areas, public health expert Ahmed Ogwell said.