All U.S. nationals and lawful permanent residents who have been in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), South Sudan, or Uganda in the past three weeks must “go through Washington-Dulles international airport for enhanced Ebola screening.” CIDRAP has the news.
The outbreak in the DRC “remains at more than 600 suspected cases and 148 deaths,” according to the United Nations. Experts believe “transmission may date back to early April, weeks before the World Health Organization (WHO) declared an outbreak on May 15.” Foreign nationals who have been in the three countries in the previous three weeks are “not able to enter the U.S. at this time.” These travel restrictions will remain in place for 30 days.
The CDC issued a statement saying that the risk of Ebola domestically remains low, and that “to date, no suspected, probable, or confirmed cases of Ebola have been reported in the U.S.” An Air France plane headed to Detroit was diverted on May 20 because of a passenger on the flight who was from the DRC.
Experts in the CDC are “working to contain the virus, identify transmission chains, and educate the population on proper handling of suspected patients, which are the only tools to curb the outbreak, because there is no available vaccine or treatment for the circulating Bundibugyo strain.”
