WASHINGTON: US health authorities activated the highest level of response to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, while announcing the shipment of experimental treatments to the region.
“Our assessment is that the risk to the US continues to remain low,” said Satish Pillai, who is leading the Ebola response at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC.
The leading US public health agency nevertheless announced a Level 1 response — the highest level — as it did for the worst-ever Ebola epidemic in 2014.
BACKGROUND
The US is working on finding a vaccine targeting the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola while sending an experimental treatment and preparing diagnostic tests to help contain the outbreak in Africa, the Department of Health and Human Services said.
The heightened response level is an “internal cue” indicating that the outbreak is a top priority for the agency, a CDC official said.
“We will mobilize staffing and additional resources as efficiently and rapidly as possible,” he added.
A little over one month after it was declared, the current Ebola epidemic has claimed 304 lives in the Democratic Republic of Congo, out of 1,115 confirmed infections.
The outbreak has spread to Uganda, where containment measures have been effective.
Kampala has reported 20 confirmed cases nationwide, including two deaths, since May 15.
If it is not quickly contained, the outbreak could reach or even surpass the scale of the 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic, US health officials have warned in recent weeks.
Originating in Guinea, that outbreak struck West Africa and killed more than 11,000 people, according to the World Health Organization.
No approved vaccines or treatments exist for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola responsible for the latest outbreak.
US health officials said Friday they are sending doses of an experimental treatment, known as MBP134, to the DRC and Uganda.
Additional doses of the treatment will be sent to the University of Oxford in Britain for a clinical trial, US health authorities said in a statement.
Washington is ready to send 2,500 tests that can be used to screen deceased victims to determine which Ebola strains were present.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has imposed a 21-day quarantine for anyone returning from Ebola-affected areas before they can travel abroad.
More broadly, anyone who has stayed in an Ebola-affected province may only travel abroad after spending at least 21 days outside the area.
A new decree requires anyone identified as a contact of a confirmed or suspected Ebola case to undergo 21 days of active health monitoring from their last exposure.
During that period, all travel, domestic or international, is banned unless expressly authorized by health authorities.
