American Doctor Infected With Ebola in Congo, US Immediately Blocks Foreign Travellers

US President Donald Trump has expressed concern over the Ebola outbreak resurging in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo). Nevertheless, Trump insisted that the virus’s spread has not yet reached the United States. I’m worried about everything, but of course I am concerned, Trump told reporters at the White House when asked about the threat of Ebola after a U.S. citizen in DR Congo tested positive. I think at this moment the outbreak is still limited to Africa, but this is something that has spread. A US health official confirmed that an American doctor has tested positive for Ebola. The Ebola Incident Manager for the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Dr. Satish Pillai, said the patient had shown symptoms since the weekend and is now being evacuated to Germany for treatment. The medical missionary group Serge confirmed that one of their doctors, Peter Stafford, tested positive for Ebola. Stafford contracted the disease while caring for patients at Nyankunde Hospital in Bunia, DR Congo. Two other doctors from the same group, including Stafford’s wife, were exposed but have not yet shown symptoms and are currently under quarantine. To date, the Ebola outbreak in DR Congo has been reported to have caused at least 100 deaths with more than 390 suspected cases. The CDC says it is working to evacuate at least six other American nationals known to have been exposed at the site. In response, the CDC issued a new directive blocking entry to foreign travellers who have recently visited affected countries such as DR Congo, Uganda, and South Sudan within the last 21 days. The measure is being implemented under Title 42, a statute that allows temporary restrictions on foreign nationals on public health grounds. The CDC emphasised that the risk of transmission to the general population in the United States remains low. As part of support, the CDC has also deployed assistance personnel from Atlanta directly to the outbreak’s epicentre. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared an international public health emergency over the outbreak. The strain circulating is Bundibugyo, an Ebola lineage for which there is no approved treatment or vaccine to date. WHO warned of significant regional transmission risk and the potential for the outbreak to scale far beyond what is currently reported.