By The United States has moved to strengthen health surveillance at its borders following fears that the growing Ebola outbreak in Central Africa could spread beyond the region, as authorities race to contain infections that have already claimed more than 100 lives.
According to a statement issued on Monday, May 18, by the CDC and as contained on its official website, new emergency travel measures targeting passengers arriving from parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, and South Sudan, countries currently linked to the outbreak, were announced.
”Under authority granted by Sections 362 and 365 of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 265, 268, and their implementing regulations, CDC is implementing targeted public health measures intended to reduce the risk of Ebola disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus (EVD) by preventing its introduction into the United States,” the statement reads.
According to a report by Forbes, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that travelers from affected regions will face enhanced screening and monitoring procedures upon arrival in the United States.
The agencies warned that some foreign nationals who recently visited the affected countries within the last 21 days may be denied entry as authorities attempt to reduce the risk of importing the virus into the country.
“The risk to the general U.S. public remains low,” the CDC stated, even as emergency preparedness measures are being intensified nationwide.
The development comes amid growing international concern over the outbreak centered in eastern Congo’s Ituri province, where health agencies say hundreds of suspected infections have already been recorded. Uganda has also confirmed cases connected to cross-border movement from Congo, including at least one death.
According to Forbes, Africa CDC Director General Jean Kaseya reportedly told the BBC that more than 395 suspected cases have emerged since the outbreak began, with treatment facilities now being expanded in the affected areas.
American authorities are also working to evacuate several U.S. citizens believed to have been exposed to the virus while carrying out humanitarian work in Congo. Reports indicate that one of the evacuees may already be showing symptoms associated with Ebola.
Health experts fear the outbreak may prove more difficult to contain because it involves the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, a rare variant for which no approved vaccine currently exists. The strain has historically recorded fatality rates between 30 and 50 percent.
World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is expected to provide a global update on the crisis during the ongoing World Health Assembly.
