US Government Offers Ebola Outbreak Support in Africa

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced it is committed to bringing an end to the 12th Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the Republic of Guinea.

The CDC stated in a press release on March 25, 2021, it is working closely with ministries of health and international and local partners in DRC, Guinea, and bordering countries to respond to these Ebola outbreaks.

Earlier in March, the CDC allocated $20 million from the Infectious Disease Rapid Response Reserve Fund for preparedness and response activities in Ebola-affected and border countries.

“Even one case of Ebola is too many,” commented CDC Ebola Response Incident Manager Joel Montgomery, Ph.D., CAPT USPHS. 

“These funds allow (the) CDC and its partners to quickly put in place response, preparedness, and post-outbreak programs and activities, learn more about the virus, and protect the health of the American people and people around the world.”

Furthermore, the CDC has deployed scientific and technical experts to DRC, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia to respond alongside CDC country office staff. 

These CDC teams provide on-the-ground and/or technical assistance to all parts of the responses, including epidemiology and surveillance, laboratory, infection prevention, and control, case management, border health, risk communication, and community engagement, vaccine, and survivor programs.

The vaccines that DRC and Guinea are receiving come from a global Ebola vaccine stockpile established in January 2021.

As of March 27, 2021, the CDC and the U.S. FDA support the use of Merck’s Ervebo Ebola prevention vaccine. 

In countries bordering affected areas, CDC is also working to strengthen rapid response capacity. These efforts are building upon capacities that CDC helped establish during previous Ebola outbreaks in these countries.

The CDC’s Level 3 Travel Alert ‘suggests future visitors to Ebola outbreak areas should speak with a healthcare provider one-month prior to travel.’

On March 2, 2021, CDC issued an order that went into effect on March 4 requiring airlines and aircraft operators to collect and transmit passenger contact information to the USG for the purposes of public health follow-up. 

In support of CDC’s order, the Department of Homeland Security is directing operators of aircraft to funnel passengers who in the last 21 days traveled from or were otherwise present within, the DRC or Guinea to one of six United States airports where the USG is focusing public health resources to implement enhanced public health measures.

The CDC is headquartered in Atlanta, GA and has experts located throughout the United States and the world.

Vax-Before-Travel publishes research-based vaccine news.