CDC restricts travel after Americans are exposed to Ebola virus that kills half of those infected

The CDC is 'mobilizing' a global response to an Ebola outbreak in Africa after 'a small number of Americans' were exposed to the deadly virus. 

The agency said Sunday that an unspecified number of Americans based in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are believed to have been exposed to the Ebola virus in the country's latest outbreak. 

The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo virus, has led to 10 confirmed cases, 336 suspected infections and 88 deaths in the DRC. There are also two confirmed cases and one death in neighboring Uganda. 

'The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has mobilized response activities following confirmation of an Ebola outbreak in Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and cases in Uganda,' the CDC said in a news release Sunday. 

'Through existing relationships with the DRC and Uganda Ministries of Health, CDC was notified of the ongoing outbreak as soon as cases were confirmed and have been actively working to support needs.'

The agency specified that 'the risk to the American public remains low,' and there are no confirmed or suspected cases of Ebola in the US.  

'Ebola virus spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person and does not spread through casual contact or air,' the CDC said. 'CDC continues to closely monitor the situation and has systems in place to detect and respond rapidly to potential public health threats.'

The agency also announced Monday that it will increase screening and traveler monitoring for people arriving from areas affected by Ebola outbreaks and restrict non-US passport holders if they have been in Uganda, DRC or South Sudan in the past 21 days. 

A health official is pictured screening people in front of Kibuli Muslim Hospital in Kampala, Uganda, on May 16

A woman wearing a protective mask stands in the corridor of a hospital in the DRC, which is facing its 17th Ebola outbreak

The agency also plans to coordinate with airlines, international partners and port-of-entry officials to identify and manage travelers who may have been exposed to Ebola. 

'CDC is also supporting interagency partners who are actively coordinating the safe withdrawal of a small number of Americans who are directly affected by this outbreak,' the CDC said. 

The CDC has issued a level 2 travel advisory for the DRC, which urges travelers to 'practice enhanced precautions' while in the region. These include avoiding contact with people who have symptoms such as fever, muscle pain and rash, as well as steering clear of blood and other body fluids or objects contaminated with them. 

Travelers should also avoid contact with bats, forest antelopes, primates and blood, fluids or meat from these animals.

The CDC urges travelers to watch for symptoms of Ebola for 21 days after leaving the DRC. 

Ebola's presence in the DRC dates back to 1976, and the latest outbreak is the 17th in the country since. 

Previous outbreaks in 2018 and 2020 in eastern Congo killed more than 1,000 people each. The largest Ebola outbreak occurred in 2014 to 2016 in West Africa when more than 28,600 cases were reported.   

The World Health Organization (WHO) has said the current outbreak does not meet the criteria of a pandemic emergency, but countries sharing borders with DRC, such as Uganda and Rwanda, are at an increased risk of further spread. 

Ebola spreads through contact with the blood or body fluids of an infected person, as well as contact with contaminated objects or infected animals such as bats or primates. 

A visitor is pictured washing his hands before entering Kyeshero Hospital in the DRC

The strain responsible for the outbreak, Bundibugyo virus, has no targeted treatments or vaccines. A health worker is seen being disinfected after working at an Ebola treatment center in the DRC in 2018

A healthcare worker puts on protective equipment during the 2018 Ebola outbreak in the DRC

Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle pain and weakness, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain and unexplained bleeding or bruising. 

Ebola can cause serious disease and has a mortality rate as high as 90 percent without treatment. 

The current outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, a rare strain of Ebola that has no approved treatments or vaccines. The strain has only been implicated in two other previous outbreaks, in 2007 and 2012. 

The mortality rate for the Bundibugyo virus ranges from 25 to 50 percent.  

The Zaire strain, which is the most common form of Ebola, can be treated with the drugs Inmazeb and Ebanga and the Ervebo vaccine, which is administered only during outbreaks. 

'Unfortunately, Bundibugyo has fewer proven countermeasures than Zaire ebolavirus, where vaccines have been highly effective in controlling outbreaks,' Amanda Rojek, Associate Professor of Health Emergencies, Pandemic Sciences Institute at the University of Oxford, said in a statement. 

The WHO said Sunday that the first known suspected case, a health worker in DRC, developed symptoms on April 24. Two infected people from DRC traveled separately from each other to Kampala, the capital of neighboring Uganda, where one died.

The WHO said there is no indication of ongoing transmission in Uganda.