Beginning today, all US nationals and lawful permanent residents who have been in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), South Sudan, or Uganda in the past 21 days must go through Washington-Dulles International airport for enhanced Ebola screening.
So far the outbreak in the DRC remains at more than 600 suspected cases and 148 deaths, per the United Nations. Experts believe transmission may date back to early April, weeks before the World Health Organization (WHO) declared an outbreak on May 15.
Foreign nationals who have been in the three spotlighted countries the previous three weeks are not able to enter the United States at this time. All travel restrictions are in place for 30 days.
The risk of Ebola domestically is low.
“To date, no suspected, probable, or confirmed cases of Ebola have been reported in the United States, and the risk of Ebola domestically is low,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement today. “However, public health entry screening is part of a layered approach that, when used with other public health measures already in place to detect symptomatic arriving travelers, can slow and reduce the spread of disease into the United States.”
Yesterday, an Air France plane headed to Detroit was diverted to Montreal after US Customs and Border Protection related that a passenger on that flight was from the DRC. Air France told The Washington Post the diversion represented no medical emergency and was instead an effort to comply with US entry requirements.
Residents burn treatment center
Today the Associated Press is reporting an arson attack in Rwampara, Ituri province, with angry residents burning an Ebola treatment center because the body of deceased man would not be released to his friends for burial. Handling dead bodies can be a common transmission route in Ebola outbreaks, but burial rituals are important to local residents.
Experts are working to contain the virus, identify transmission chains, and educate the population on proper handling of suspected patients, which are the only tools to curb the outbreak, because there is no available vaccine or treatment for the circulating Bundibugyo strain.
The Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention will host a meeting in the next two days in Kampala, Uganda in collaboration with health ministries of Uganda, the DRC, and South Sudan. The meeting will establish key outbreak response protocols.
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