Ebola outbreak: American tests positive in Congo

One American has tested positive for Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo in connection to the deadly outbreak in central Africa that global health agencies are racing to contain, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Monday.

The person was exposed as part of their work in Congo, developed symptoms over the weekend and tested positive late Sunday, Dr. Satish Pillai, the CDC’s Ebola response incident manager, told reporters on a call. The CDC and State Department are working to move that individual and six other Americans exposed to Ebola to Germany for treatment, care and monitoring. 

But Pillai emphasized that no cases tied to the outbreak have been confirmed in the U.S., and that the overall risk to the American public and travelers remains low.

Still, the CDC also announced on Monday that for the next 30 days, it will restrict entry into the country for people without a U.S. passport who were in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan or Uganda in the last three weeks.

The update came one day after the World Health Organization declared the Ebola epidemic a “public health emergency of international concern.” The outbreak does not meet the criteria of a “pandemic emergency,” but the WHO warned that the high positivity rate and increasing cases and deaths point toward a “potentially much larger outbreak” than what is being detected and reported.  

As of Sunday, more than 300 suspected cases and 88 suspected deaths have been reported, primarily in Congo but also in neighboring Uganda, according to the CDC.

The specific virus involved in this outbreak, called Bundibugyo, has no vaccine or treatment. Historically, that virus has death rates ranging from 25% to 50%, the CDC added. 

But agency officials told reporters on Monday that work is underway to develop a monoclonal antibody therapy as a potential treatment for this specific strain of Ebola.