Number Of Confirmed, Suspected Ebola Cases Tops 200 In DRC; CDC Withdraws Onsite Experts Over Security Concerns

CIDRAP News: DRC Ebola cases top 200 as security problems fuel the spike
“With 11 new Ebola cases confirmed [Oct. 11 and Oct. 12], the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ebola outbreak total climbed to 205 cases, amid new warning from the World Health Organization (WHO) that the security problems are getting worse and threaten to undermine the response, especially in Beni, the main hot spot…” (Schnirring, 10/12).

STAT: Ebola experts from CDC were pulled from outbreak zone amid security concern
“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was forced to withdraw its Ebola experts from an outbreak zone in the Democratic Republic of the Congo several weeks ago amid heightened security concerns, a decision that is fueling worry over the impact on efforts to contain the epidemic, according to U.S. officials and public health experts familiar with the matter. The Ebola experts — among the most experienced on the planet — and other U.S. government employees have been told by the State Department that they cannot travel to eastern DRC to help with the on-the-ground response…” (Branswell, 10/14).

Additional coverage of the ongoing DRC Ebola outbreak and responses is available from Al Jazeera, Associated Press, CIDRAP News, Deutsche Welle, The Guardian, NPR, PBS NewsHour, Reuters, SciDev.Net, and VOA News (2).

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