The CDC said in a statement that “the risk to the American public remains low” and it “has systems in place to detect and respond rapidly to potential public health threats.”
The affected Americans in Congo are “believed to have had exposure to suspected cases in the country’s latest Ebola outbreak, with several deemed to have had high-risk exposures,” STAT News first reported. At least one person “may have developed symptoms.”
The CDC is sending personnel to the Congo early this week, according to the agency’s Ebola response incident manager Satish Pillai, as reported by the Washington Post. Pillai said in a remote briefing with reporters that the agency is providing support for “surveillance, contact tracing, laboratory testing, infection prevention and control, border health activities, and community engagement.”
It was reported Sunday night that at least six Americans were exposed to the virus, according to CBS News, though it remains unclear if any people have been infected. One is reportedly symptomatic, with three having faced “a high-risk contact or exposure,” according to sources.
Ebola is a severe and often deadly disease that spreads through contact with bodily fluids of infected people or animals. Symptoms include fever, fatigue, and vomiting, and they appear within two to twenty-one days after contact.
The specific strain in the outbreak in East Africa is Bundibugyo virus, for which there are no approved vaccines or treatments, according to the CDC. The agency’s website tells Americans to practice enhanced precautions if traveling within the Congo and to avoid contact with people who have symptoms and areas where bats live. Pillai said the virus is only infectious when the person with the disease shows symptoms.
Ebola killed more than 11,000 people in an outbreak between 2014 and 2016.
CDC SAYS CURRENTLY NO CASES OF HANTAVIRUS
The World Health Organization declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern on Saturday. The WHO said as of Saturday that “eight laboratory-confirmed cases, 246 suspected cases, and 80 suspected deaths have been reported in Ituri Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.” Officials have not yet declared the outbreak a pandemic.
The WHO also said that the “event requires international coordination and cooperation” to “scale up and strengthen operations and ensure ability to implement control measures.”
