CDC to tap $107m in emergency funding for Ebola response in DRC and Uganda | Trump administration
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will provide $107 million in emergency funding for the Ebola outbreak response in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda, officials said Thursday.
The ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo comes as Canada, Mexico and the United States co-host the Fifa World Cup, which attracts visitors from around the world. Authorities said the outbreak, now the third largest on record, required “strong immediate support” but the global risk remained low.
CDC’s Ebola response incident manager, Dr. “Specifically, and consistent with that modelling, we are now approaching 1,000 confirmed cases across 31 health zones in the Democratic Republic of Congo,” Satish K Pillai told reporters in a briefing on Thursday, adding: “There are 31 cases in Kampala, Uganda.”
Pillai said the CDC has 125 staff in the DRC and Uganda, in addition to 23 field staff supporting disease research, and CDC staff are having twice-weekly calls with U.S. World Cup host cities. So far, local health officials have mostly faced illnesses typical of large, Super Bowl-style events, such as heat-related illnesses, officials said.
an epidemic Bundibugyo viral disease (BVD) began about a month ago along the western border of the DRC and the eastern border of Uganda. BVD is a rare zoonotic form of Ebola, a hemorrhagic fever. illness was killed 30% to 50% of those infected in recent outbreaks in Congo and Uganda.
African health officials warn the outbreak could become more widespread worst on record and at current infection rates it will take a year to get under control. Worst Ebola outbreak registered It infected more than 28,000 people and killed 11,000 in West Africa and Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo between 2014 and 2016. CDC reported As of June 15, 837 confirmed cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and 19 confirmed cases in Uganda. 198 people lost their lives in both countries.
Although the risk in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda is high, the global risk is low. The disease is transmitted from person to person through direct contact with blood, body secretions and contaminated surfaces. This contrasts with airborne diseases such as Covid-19 and measles, which are thought to be much more contagious.
Despite the low global risk, the United States is one of 22 countries that have imposed travel restrictions on people from those countries and has been criticized for hampering the response to the outbreak. Efforts to control the disease have been disrupted insecurity and shortages of personal protective equipment and vehicles for transporting bodies.
The CDC’s emergency funding will add to the nearly $910 million committed to combat the Ebola epidemic, less than 10 percent of which has been received from donors. African health leaders.
“CDC’s activities focus on containing the epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo, containing the epidemic in Uganda, and ensuring that we are ready to respond domestically to unexpected case events,” Pillai said.
