The CDC said the risk to Americans is low and issued a travel advisory urging Americans traveling to Congo and Uganda to avoid contact with people with symptoms.
KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo – The ongoing Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo has killed at least 131 people and more than 500 suspected cases, Congo’s health ministry said Tuesday, as details emerged about the government’s slow response.
“513 suspected cases and 131 deaths have been reported in the affected areas,” Public Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba said.
“These are suspected deaths and investigations are ongoing to determine which deaths are actually related to the disease.”
The World Health Organization declared the Ebola outbreak a public health emergency of international concern on Sunday.
Health authorities said the current outbreak, first confirmed on Friday, is caused by Bundibugyo virus, a rare variant of Ebola for which there is currently no approved treatment or vaccine. Although there have been more than 20 Ebola outbreaks in Congo and Uganda, this is only the third time Bundibugyo virus has been discovered.
The cases have so far been confirmed in Goma, the rebel-controlled capital of North Kivu province, Mumbwalu, Butembo and Nyakunde.
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in Geneva on Tuesday that he was “deeply concerned by the scale and speed of the outbreak” and that the U.N. health agency would convene an emergency committee meeting on Tuesday to make recommendations.
Dr. Jean-Jacques Muyembe, medical director of Congo’s National Institute of Biomedical Research, said the American doctor was one of the cases in Bunia, the capital of eastern Congo’s Ituri province.
Dr. Peter Stafford was treating patients at a local hospital when he developed symptoms, his organization Sergei said in a statement.
Three other Serge employees work at the same hospital, including Stafford’s wife, but are asymptomatic.
Dr. Satish Pillai of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told reporters that seven Americans, including one who tested positive, were being sent to Germany for monitoring. Pillay said the American developed symptoms over the weekend.
CDC officials did not immediately respond to follow-up questions about the U.S. doctor’s condition.
The CDC said the risk to Americans is low and issued a travel advisory urging Americans Traveling in Congo d Avoid contact with people who have symptoms such as fever, muscle pain and rash.
The CDC said that for the next 30 days, the United States will ban entry to all foreigners who have visited Congo, Uganda, and South Sudan in the past three weeks and will take steps to identify individuals with Ebola symptoms at ports of entry.
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