“I’m concerned about everything,” President Donald Trump told a reporter Monday who asked if Americans should be concerned about an outbreak of Ebola. “But… [I] certainly am.”
He noted that the disease has been so far contained to Africa, and then turned the question over to Dr. Heidi Overton, a physician and the deputy director of the White House Domestic Policy Council. She explained that “full interagency response,” was initiated due to the outbreak.
“Right now, there are no cases of Ebola in America, and we want to keep it that way,” Overton said.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one American had tested positive for the viral disease as of Sunday. That individual was exposed to Ebola Bundibugyo disease as part of their work caring for patients in the Democratic Republic of the Congo DRC).
Overton said the patient has been moved to Germany for treatment and care. There, experts have previous experience dealing with Ebola. Six high-risk contacts of the patient are also being moved, Overton said.
Per the CDC, Ebola disease is caused by an infection with an orthoebolavirus, viruses typically found in sub-Saharan Africa. These pathogens can cause deadly disease with mortality rates as high as 80% to 90%. Bundibugyo virus is one of four viruses that cause illness in people identified by the CDC.
“People with Ebola disease may experience ‘dry’ symptoms early in the course of illness. These symptoms may include fever, aches, pains, and fatigue. As the person becomes sicker, the illness typically progresses to ‘wet’ symptoms and may include diarrhea, vomiting, and unexplained bleeding,” the CDC explained.
Earlier this month, a hospital in Bunia Health Zone in northeastern DRC identified a cluster of severe illnesses affecting healthcare workers, the CDC said. The World Health Organization determined that an Ebola Bundibugyo outbreak in Africa had reached the level of “a public health emergency of international concern,” by Sunday. It said the outbreak covered cases in the DRC and Uganda.
As of Monday, there were reports of 11 confirmed cases and 336 suspected cases including 88 deaths in DRC, the CDC said. In Uganda, there were two confirmed cases and one death of people who had been traveling from the DRC.
Together, the CDC, the Department of Homeland Security, and other federal agencies took proactive public health measures to prevent Ebola from entering the United States, the centers said. Overton explained that measures included travel warnings and restrictions. According to the CDC, it is also assisting with contact tracing and mother measures.
“This is a rapidly evolving situation, and case counts are subject to change,” the CDC said Monday.
There is no vaccine for the Bundibugyo virus, the CDC noted. Treatment consists of supportive care and death rates have historically ranged from 25% to 50%. There have been 17 Ebola outbreaks in the DRC since 1976, including this most recent outbreak, with the most recent ending last December.
News of this outbreak comes on the heels out an outbreak of hantavirus that has also impacted Americans. That outbreak on the M/V Hondius cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean was caused by hantavirus endemic in areas of South America known to spread from person to person. In a May 14 announcement cited by the American Hospital Association the CDC said 41 people across the U.S. were being monitored for symptoms of hantavirus following the outbreak.
Near the end of Trump’s first term in office, the COVID-19 pandemic led to stay-at-home orders, extreme impacts on the economy and supply chain, closures of public places and more. Amid the pandemic, Trump lost the 2020 election to former President Joe Biden.
