Former CDC director warns Ebola outbreak ‘going to become significant pandemic’ | World | News
A former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director has warned that he believes the Ebola outbreak will turn into a “very significant epidemic.”
Robert Redfield said during an appearance on NewsNation on Wednesday, May 20: “I suspect this will turn into a very significant epidemic, probably leaking into Tanzania, South Sudan, maybe Rwanda.”
“So this is going to be devastating.”
Ebola is a highly contagious disease spread through contact with body fluids. It triggers often fatal hemorrhagic fever, rapid multiple organ failure, and internal or external bleeding.
The majority of outbreak cases have been confirmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.
Health officials in both countries have reported 536 suspected cases, 105 probable cases, 34 confirmed cases and approximately 134 suspected deaths due to the outbreak, according to the CDC.
Redfield’s remarks come just days after the CDC began screening some travelers at Chicago O’Hare International Airport on Wednesday, May 20, as health officials responded to the outbreak.
The CDC also announced earlier in the week that US passport holders who have visited the DRC, Uganda or South Sudan in the past three weeks will be barred from entering the country. The ban will remain in effect for at least 30 days, according to an order the CDC issued Monday.
Ebola cases continue to spread across parts of East and Central Africa, leading the World Health Organization to declare the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
At least six Americans have reportedly been exposed to Ebola.
After the World Health Organization raised the alarm about the “scale and speed” of the epidemic, an American doctor who caught Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo was sent to Germany by plane for treatment with his wife and four children.
“This is a really significant epidemic right now, and a significant epidemic of public health concern internationally, in part because, as you say, it went unnoticed very quickly. I’m not sure why,” Redfield said.
US President Donald Trump This week he also expressed concern about the Ebola outbreak.
When asked by a reporter about his concerns about the virus, Trump responded:[I] “I certainly am.”
“I think it’s limited to Africa right now, but it’s something that’s exploding.”
