The World Health Organization said May 22 the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in Uganda comprises approximately 750 cases and has resulted in more than 170 deaths.
Michael Osterholm, PhD, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, said the current numbers likely undercount the true scope of the outbreak.
“This is a bad situation, and we are going to see a substantial increase in case numbers over the next two to three weeks,” Dr. Osterholm said in a May 22 interview with Becker’s.
Within Congo, the WHO has confirmed 82 cases and seven deaths. In Uganda, there are two confirmed cases in individuals who traveled from Congo, and one death. In total, 84 cases and eight deaths are confirmed; the rest are suspected.
WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus, PhD, raised the risk level from “high” to “very high” within Congo. The risk remains high regionally and low for global spread.
To date, the U.S. has not recorded any Ebola cases related to this outbreak, and the domestic risk is low, according to the CDC.
Here are five updates to know about the Ebola outbreak:
1. The Bundibugyo strain behind this outbreak has no approved therapeutics or vaccines. The WHO has declared the outbreak, which has gone undetected for possibly two months, as a “public health emergency of international concern.”
“Part of the reason the outbreak went undetected was because the tests that are used to detect Zaire virus do not detect Bundibugyo,” Dr. Tedros said.
Dr. Osterholm said the window for containing the outbreak is narrow.
“It’s like a forest fire — you put a forest fire out when it’s only 10 acres large, it’s a heck of a lot easier than doing it when it’s 1,000 acres large,” he said. “Can we, in a timely way, begin to shut down these avenues of transmission in Africa? I worry about that.”
2. Following news of an Ebola outbreak beginning in the Democratic Republic of Congo that has spread to Uganda, the U.S. government issued an order May 18 to restrict foreign travelers from Congo, Uganda and South Sudan from entering the U.S.
Three days later, the CDC said U.S. citizens who were in these countries within the last 21 days are permitted to enter the United States through Washington-Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C., for public health screening.
3. A U.S. physician, Peter Stafford, MD, tested positive for Ebola while treating patients in Congo and has been receiving care at a hospital in Germany. Dr. Stafford is “severely weakened but is not currently critically ill,” the hospital said May 22.
His wife and four children, who are classified as high-risk contacts, are asymptomatic and quarantined in a separate part of the unit, according to the hospital. An initial test detected no Ebola infection.
Dr. Osterholm cautioned against the kind of overreaction that followed U.S. cases in 2014, when travelers canceled trips to New York City and Dallas because Ebola cases had been reported there.
“What a disease does to a community is not just how many people it infects and kills — what does it do to the social fabric of the community?” he said. “There is no need to have that kind of overreaction and fear associated with Ebola cases, should they arrive on our shore. We know how to handle these, we can handle these safely, just as they are in Germany right now.”
4. Another American citizen who is a high-risk contact has been transferred to the Czech Republic, according to the WHO.
5. On May 21, family members of a deceased Ebola patient set fire to a healthcare facility in eastern Congo, according to CNN. The individuals attempted to access their relative’s body, and after health authorities refused access, they launched projectiles at the Ituri facility.
The blaze burned down two medical tents in front of the hospital. Six Ebola patients who were receiving care at the tents were moved inside the hospital.
“There is significant distrust of outside authorities among the local population,” Dr. Tedros said of the incident. “Building trust in the affected communities is critical to a successful response, and is one of our highest priorities.”
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