By Jean-Yves Kamale
and Monika Pronczuk
Contributing Writers
KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — A U.S. citizen working for a humanitarian organization in Congo has tested positive for the Ebola virus, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, as the Central African country struggles to contain the swelling outbreak.
The CDC said it was working with the person’s employer, U.S. agencies, the public health authorities and Congolese partners to prevent further transmission and identify close contacts. The CDC did not reveal the person’s name, U.S. hometown or job function with the humanitarian organization.
In the first week of the outbreak, an American doctor working in Congo tested positive for the virus and was transferred to Germany for treatment.
Earlier this week, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said that the outbreak is the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak ever recorded on the continent, with 1,830 confirmed cases in Congo, including 648 deaths. Cases have also been confirmed in neighboring Uganda.
While global officials warn the outbreak could become the deadliest on record, no cases have yet been reported in the U.S. – and the risk of spread here is considered low. Officials say they are monitoring the situation in affected African nations and have restricted travel from those countries to four U.S. cities: New York, Washington, D.C., Atlanta and Houston.
Initially, Trump administration officials had said the U.S. was planning to send Americans who are exposed to Ebola while abroad to a new facility in Kenya instead of flying them home. But the project has been suspended after an order from a Kenyan court.
The Congolese authorities declared a fresh Ebola outbreak on May 15, after the disease had been transmitting for weeks without official detection, according to the World Health Organization.
The outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, which has no approved vaccine or treatment.
Efforts to contain the virus have also been hampered by a funding gap, attacks on health centers and an ongoing conflict in eastern Congo, the epicenter of the outbreak.
Last week, clinical trials for treatment began after researchers launched a highly anticipated study in the hope of fighting the virus.
Jean-Yves Kamale and Monika Pronczuk write for the Associated Press.
