The United States has announced an additional $38 million to support efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as health officials warn that the virus could spread further without stronger action.
The new funding brings total U.S. support for the response to more than $200 million, according to the State Department.
Officials said the money would support ongoing efforts to tackle the outbreak. Details on how the latest funding would be used were not immediately released.
The State Department said it was working with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as authorities in the DRC and neighbouring Uganda, to support a rapid response.
The outbreak has become a growing regional concern.
On Friday, the CDC published three scientific reports on the situation, saying they were intended to help mobilise international support and resources.
The reports came after the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern on 17 May.
According to the DRC’s health ministry, 452 confirmed Ebola cases and 82 deaths have been recorded so far.
Health officials also reported 71 new cases within 24 hours on Friday, warning that the virus was spreading quickly within communities.
For the DRC, the challenge is not only medical.
It is also logistical.
Containing Ebola depends on speed, trust and access. Patients must be identified quickly. Contacts must be traced. Communities must be informed before fear and misinformation spread faster than the disease itself.
The latest U.S. funding is aimed at strengthening that response.
But officials have warned that without broader international support, the outbreak could become harder to contain.
CDC experts said modelling suggests the outbreak could grow significantly if efforts to isolate infected patients and stop transmission are not strengthened.
The agency warned that, under some scenarios, the outbreak could rival or even exceed the scale of the 2014-2016 Ebola crisis in West Africa, which killed more than 11,000 people.
Jason Asher, director of the CDC's Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics, said some projections showed the outbreak could become one of the largest ever documented if containment measures remain limited.
The CDC currently has around 30 staff members based in the DRC and about 100 in Uganda. Additional specialists have also been deployed in recent weeks.
The outbreak has prompted stricter measures by U.S. authorities aimed at preventing Ebola from reaching American soil.
Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he would not allow Ebola cases to enter the United States.
The U.S. government has said citizens exposed to the virus but not showing symptoms would be quarantined at a facility under construction in Kenya. If they later develop symptoms, they would be transferred to another country rather than brought back to the United States.
Meanwhile, the CDC has introduced temporary travel restrictions on people who have recently been in the DRC, Uganda or South Sudan, including some permanent U.S. residents. Health screenings are also being carried out for travellers arriving from those countries at three U.S. airports.
The policy marks a departure from previous approaches, under which infected Americans were typically returned home for treatment.
Public health experts have urged the government to continue bringing sick U.S. citizens back to the country, noting that specialised treatment facilities already exist.
There are currently 13 treatment centres within a government-supported hospital network equipped to care for patients with Ebola and other highly infectious diseases.
The proposed quarantine facility in Kenya has also faced opposition. Local protests linked to the project have resulted in at least two deaths, while a Kenyan court has ordered construction work to stop pending further review.
Russia's health watchdog said on Tuesday that no cases of plague had b...
An Azerbaijani citizen died and another is missing after a cargo ship was attacked by a drone in the Black Sea, near the coast of Romania on Monday...
Azerbaijan is seeking to attract more European visitors by improving air connectivity and raising its profile as an international tourism des...
Australian counterterrorism authorities are examining the links of the co-pilot accused of attacking the captain and attempting to take control of a flydubai flight bound for Israel. Authorities in New Zealand have also said they are investigating reports the suspect had spent time in that country.
Russia's health watchdog said on Tuesday that no cases of plague had been detected among anyone who had come into contact with a Siberian plague institute laboratory worker who died last week, and locals said their lives had barely been disrupted.
Right-wing Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro will face leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in a runoff of the presidential election later this month, after he exceeded expectations in Sunday's first-round vote with a slight lead over the incumbent.
Candidates elected to Bosnia and Herzegovina's three-member presidency declared victory after preliminary unofficial results showed Denis Becirovic leading the Bosniak seat, Darijana Filipovic ahead in the Croat seat and Zeljka Cvijanovic likely retaining the Serb seat.
An Azerbaijani citizen died and another is missing after a cargo ship was attacked by a drone in the Black Sea, near the coast of Romania on Monday, 5 October, Baku's Foreign Ministry has said.
Russia's health watchdog said on Tuesday that no cases of plague had been detected among anyone who had come into contact with a Siberian plague institute laboratory worker who died last week, and locals said their lives had barely been disrupted.
Space-agency chiefs and industry leaders met to discuss lunar exploration, satellite networks and orbital security on Tuesday as a major global space congress entered its second day.
Police fired tear gas at protesters blockading French high schools on Tuesday as students, teachers and parents took to the streets on the biggest day of action in a wave of demonstrations against understaffed and dilapidated classrooms.
A large Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow and the surrounding region has killed two people, damaged homes and sparked a major fire at a key fuel facility, according to Russian officials and military bloggers.
Kenya has confirmed its first case of Ebola after a Kenyan citizen who had travelled from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) died in Nairobi, prompting health authorities to launch an urgent contact-tracing operation.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment