DRC Ebola outbreak affecting 'small number of Americans,' CDC says

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement on Sunday that a "small number of Americans" are directly affected by an Ebola outbreak occurring in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

"The CDC is working with other U.S. agencies to coordinate the safe withdrawal of the Americans," the CDC said in its statement. The agency did not confirm the number of people affected, the type of exposure or whether any individuals had experienced symptoms.

"We don't discuss or comment on individual dispositions," Dr. Satish Pillai, the CDC's incident manager for Ebola, said during a press briefing on Sunday. "It is a highly dynamic situation, and at this point, what I would say is, we continue to assess, we will continue to keep you posted as we learn more."

On Saturday, the World Health Organization said in a statement that the ebola outbreak in the DRC and Uganda constituted a "public health emergency of international concern."

As of Sunday, the CDC said there were 10 confirmed Ebola cases and 336 suspected cases in the DRC. There had been 88 suspected deaths in the DRC, as well as two confirmed cases and one confirmed death in Uganda from people who had traveled to the DRC.

The CDC said that the risk to the American public remains low. Ebola virus spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person and does not spread through casual contact or air.

"CDC has extensive experience and expertise in responding to Ebola outbreaks," CDC acting Director Jay Bhattacharya said on a call with reporters on Friday. "It is a large outbreak, and we were just informed yesterday about it."

Popular Reads

Hantavirus updates: Canadian cruise ship passenger tests positive

• May 17, 4:26 PM

Iran 'better get moving, FAST' and make a peace deal, Trump says

• May 17, 1:30 PM

Trump calls Iran's latest response to proposal 'TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE'

• May 11, 4:05 AM

He added, "We're absolutely committed to making sure that they can get resources as they need. We have helped with other Ebola outbreaks in the past ... We have lots of hard-earned lessons. The key thing here is to know that we are absolutely involved."

It is the DRC's 17th outbreak of Ebola since the disease emerged in the 1970s, according to the WHO. 

This strain of Ebola is caused by Bundibugyo virus, for which there are no therapeutics or vaccines, the WHO said.

The WHO has declared international public health emergencies over previous Ebola outbreaks as well as COVID-19 and mpox.