The U.S. announced temporary Ebola-related travel restrictions and added screening as outbreak counts in Congo and Uganda continue to rise.
The Trump administration moved Monday to temporarily restrict entry to the United States for many non-exempt travelers who have recently been in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda or South Sudan, citing a growing Ebola outbreak in central and eastern Africa.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the order takes effect immediately, runs for 30 days and applies to people who were present in the three countries during the past 21 days. The CDC also said it would expand public health screening for travelers from affected areas and work with airlines, international partners and port-of-entry officials to identify people who may have been exposed.
The restrictions do not apply to U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents or U.S. service members, according to the CDC. CBC News, citing the order, also listed U.S. nationals, certain government personnel overseas, spouses and children among those exempt, along with cases approved by the Department of Homeland Security or excepted by customs officers.
The CDC said the immediate risk to the U.S. general public remains low. But the agency cited Ebola’s incubation period, which can extend up to 21 days, as a reason for tighter controls because infected people can travel internationally before symptoms appear.
The U.S. action comes as public health officials contend with rapidly changing and sometimes inconsistent outbreak figures. Congo’s health minister, Samuel Roger Kamba, said Tuesday that at least 131 people are believed to have died in the latest outbreak in Congo, while the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported one death in neighboring Uganda. CBC News separately cited Monday figures from the Congo Health Cluster of 105 suspected deaths and 393 suspected cases. Earlier, the World Health Organization reported 246 suspected cases and 80 suspected deaths in Congo, plus two laboratory-confirmed cases in Kampala, Uganda, including one death.
The WHO has declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, while saying it did not meet the criteria for a pandemic emergency and advising against closing international borders. Officials have warned that the true scope of the outbreak may be larger than reported because detection and contact tracing are still developing.
One American has tested positive for Ebola after working in Congo, the CDC confirmed Monday. CBC News reported that the person was being transferred to Germany for treatment, and that six others who had been exposed were also being moved to Germany. The mission organization Serge identified the infected person as medical missionary Dr. Peter Stafford, who it said had been exposed while treating patients at Nyankunde Hospital.
The current outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, which has been less common in Congo’s past outbreaks. Ebola can spread through bodily fluids and can cause severe, often fatal illness. CBS News medical correspondent Dr. Céline Gounder reported that there are no approved vaccines or treatments for this strain.
Containment is expected to be difficult in eastern Congo, where health infrastructure, armed conflict and population movement complicate outbreak response. CBC News reported, citing Congolese officials familiar with the response, that funeral practices, early testing problems and sample-shipping failures likely delayed detection.
“We will continue to evaluate the evolving situation and may adjust public health measures as additional information becomes available,” the CDC said.
The immediate questions now are how quickly health teams can clarify the scale of the outbreak, trace exposures across borders and determine whether the U.S. travel order will be extended or changed after its initial 30-day period.
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