The World Health Organization declared an Ebola outbreak in Central Africa an international public health emergency on Sunday after dozens of suspected deaths were reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighboring Uganda.
The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo virus, does not meet the criteria for a pandemic emergency, the WHO said.
The declaration follows reports of 80 suspected deaths, eight laboratory-confirmed cases and 246 suspected cases as of Saturday across at least three health zones in the Democratic Republic of Congo, including Bunia, Rwampara and Mongbwalu.
The development comes as global health officials continue monitoring a rare hantavirus outbreak tied to the MV Hondius cruise ship, which left multiple passengers and crew members sick, and caused three deaths.
As of May 13, the WHO said 11 hantavirus cases had been identified in connection with the cruise outbreak, including eight confirmed cases, two probable cases and one inconclusive case.
In neighboring Uganda’s capital, Kampala, the WHO said two apparently unrelated laboratory-confirmed Ebola cases — including one death — were reported Friday and Saturday involving people who had traveled from the DRC.
Another laboratory-confirmed case was reported in the DRC capital of Kinshasa involving a person returning from Ituri province.
Initial tests suggested the outbreak does not involve the Ebola Zaire strain, which caused Congo’s devastating 2018–2020 epidemic that killed more than 1,000 people.
Three US airports are ramping up screenings for Ebola-infected passengers amid warnings that the outbreak will only get worse.
More than 900 people are suspected to have been sickened by the disease in Central Africa to date, and 220 people are thought to have died from the infection.
One American - Dr Peter Stafford - tested positive for the virus earlier this month after working in the region and was transported to Germany for treatment. Two aid workers who returned to Italy are also showing symptoms consistent with the virus.
Officials in the US said on Friday that people returning to the US from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and South Sudan would need to fly to one of three US airports for screenings: Washington Dulles International Airport near Washington, DC; Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Georgia; and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas.
Now, Judge Lina Hidalgo, who is effectively the chief executive of the county covering Houston, has revealed the extra measures airports are taking to prevent Ebola from entering the US.
In a post on Facebook, she detailed how screening would work at the Houston airport beginning Tuesday. Measures include temperature checks, a questionnaire and Ebola tests for travelers who had recently been to a country recording an outbreak.
She said: 'When someone flies into our airport from these [affected] countries, or even if they're coming from a layover, they're screened for a fever, [and] asked a series of questions.'
If the individual does not have a fever or symptoms, she said they are allowed to travel on - but are asked to provide contact information in case authorities need to check up on them.
If they do have symptoms, however, they are taken to one of two hospitals in Houston and placed into isolation. The hospitals were not named.
At these units, if they test positive for Ebola, everyone on their flight is then warned that they may have been exposed to the disease.
It was not clear whether the other two airports would be following exactly the same measures.
To date, she said, seven Harris County residents - the county the Houston airport is in - who had recently been in Uganda had been screened. Two arrived on Sunday, while five more arrived on Monday.
All seven were screened in Dallas and Washington DC, she added, before continuing on to Houston.
None tested positive for Ebola or showed any symptoms of the disease.
Unlike Covid or the flu, Ebola does not spread in the air - it needs someone to have contact with fluids from an infected or deceased patient to pass it on.
About 50 percent of people who are infected with the current outbreak strain of Ebola die from the disease.
The cases are being caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, which has no vaccine and no treatment.
