The CDC activated its Emergency Operations Center June 13 to support the response to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The outbreak, which is the second largest Ebola outbreak ever recorded, has surpassed 2,000 cases and has resulted in 1,411 deaths. A leader with the World Health Organization said June 6 that the outbreak may last for another two years. The outbreak also recently spread into Uganda.
Currently, the CDC's subject matter experts are working with the USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team to aid the international response to the outbreak. As of June 11, a total of 187 CDC staff have completed 278 deployments to the Congo, Uganda and other neighboring countries, as well as the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
With the activation of the Emergency Operations Center, the CDC will be able to provide increased operational support for the response team deployed in the Congo.
"Through CDC's command center we are consolidating our public health expertise and logistics planning for a longer term, sustained effort to bring this complex epidemic to an end," said CDC Director Robert R. Redfield, MD.
The agency said in a news release that activating the CDC's Emergency Operations Center does not mean the United States faces an increased threat of an Ebola outbreak.
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