President Donald Trump said he is “concerned” about the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) after an American tested positive for the virus.
“I’m concerned about everything, but certainly am,” Trump said when asked if Americans should be concerned about Ebola. “I think that it’s been confined right now to Africa, but it’s something that has had a breakout.”
Dr. Heidi Overton, deputy director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, also offered remarks Monday on the American working in the DRC who is "symptomatic," having tested positive for the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, which currently has no targeted vaccine or treatment.
“That American, as well as six other high-risk contacts, are going to be taken out of that region and taken to Germany,” said Overton, hailing the “internationally recognized location for viral hemorrhagic fever treatments.”
Serge, an international Christian missions organization, said Monday that one of its American medical missionaries in the DRC, Dr. Peter Stafford, was exposed to the virus while treating patients at Nyankunde Hospital in Bunia.
“Dr. Peter Stafford has been safely evacuated and is receiving specialized medical treatment after testing positive for the Bundibugyo ebolavirus while serving in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC),” read the update.
Two additional physicians who were “potentially exposed”—Peter’s wife, Dr. Rebekah Stafford, and Dr. Patrick LaRochelle—were “asymptomatic” on Monday and following “established quarantine and monitoring protocols.”
For other Americans, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued travel warnings and introduced restrictions—prohibiting non-U.S. citizens who have been in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan in the last 21 days from entering the United States. The order is set to be in effect for at least 30 days.
Meanwhile, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO) expressed deep concern “about the scale and speed of the epidemic” as he issued an update Tuesday morning.
Ghebreyesus said there were at least 500 suspected cases and 130 suspected deaths in the outbreak. He warned these numbers will change as field operations are “scaling up,” citing surveillance, contact tracing, and laboratory testing.
Local officials have since said at least 131 deaths have been reported in association with the outbreak in the DRC.
Tuesday’s figures are up significantly from those reported by WHO Saturday, which relayed eight laboratory-confirmed cases, 246 suspected cases, and 80 suspected deaths in the Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. And “two laboratory-confirmed cases (including one death) with no apparent link to each other” reported in Kampala, Uganda.
Ghebreyesus warned that a number of factors could contribute to a rise, noting that cases had been confirmed in urban, more densely populated areas. Health care worker deaths have also been confirmed, he noted, “indicating health care-associated transmission.” Another cause for concern is the “significant population movement” due to conflict in the Ituri province which has caused mass displacement.
The director-general confirmed the approval of an additional $3.4 million from the WHO’s contingency fund for emergencies, bringing the total financial support in response to the outbreak to $3.9 million.
The U.N. health agency will also convene an emergency committee later Tuesday, to offer advice on “temporary recommendations.”
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