A number of Americans who are in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are believed to have had exposure to suspected cases in the country’s latest Ebola outbreak, with several deemed to have had high-risk exposures, sources have told STAT. At least one of these individuals may have developed symptoms.
One source said that there are not yet test results for any of the individuals, but the U.S. government is reportedly trying to arrange to transport them out of the DRC to somewhere they can be safely quarantined, and cared for, if they prove to have been infected. It’s not clear if that would be in the United States; there is some discussion of perhaps taking the individuals to an American military base in Germany, a source said.
The sources spoke on condition of anonymity, because they had not been authorized to discuss the situation publicly.
Already, the outbreak’s suspected case count is at least 246 cases, with 80 deaths, including at least four health workers.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention held a hastily called news conference on Sunday to discuss the outbreak, which the World Health Organization has declared a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC). But when specifically asked whether any Americans have been exposed to Ebola, and whether the government is planning on extricating them from the DRC, the CDC’s incident manager, Satish Pillai, did not answer the questions.
