CDC to use $107m emergency funds for Ebola response in DRC and Uganda
9 reported
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will tap $107m in emergency funding for Ebola outbreak response in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda, officials said on Thursday. The outbreak, now the third largest on record, comes as Canada, Mexico and the US jointly host the Fifa World Cup, attracting visitors from around the world. Dr Satish K Pillai, incident manager for the CDC’s Ebola response, said in a briefing that the outbreak required “strong immediate support” but that global risk remained low. The CDC reported 837 confirmed cases in the DRC and 19 confirmed cases in Uganda as of 15 June, with 198 deaths across both countries. African health officials warn the outbreak could become the worst on record and take a year to contain at current infection rates. The emergency funding adds to roughly $910m already pledged, less than 10% of which has been received from donors, according to African health leaders.
What’s reported
The CDC will tap $107m in emergency funding for Ebola response in the DRC and Uganda.
The outbreak is the third largest on record, with nearly 1,000 confirmed cases across 31 health zones in the DRC and 31 cases in Kampala, Uganda.
The CDC has 23 field staff supporting disease investigations and 125 staff members across the DRC and Uganda.
An outbreak of Bundibugyo viral disease (BVD), a rare zoonotic species of Ebola, began roughly one month ago along the western border of the DRC and the eastern border of Uganda.
BVD killed between 30% and 50% of those infected in recent outbreaks in Congo and Uganda.
The CDC reported 837 confirmed cases in the DRC and 19 confirmed cases in Uganda as of 15 June, with 198 deaths across both countries.
The US is one of 22 countries that imposed travel restrictions on people from these countries, which have been criticized as impeding the response.
Efforts to contain the disease have been hampered by mistrust and shortages of personal protective equipment and vehicles to transport dead bodies.
The emergency funding adds to roughly $910m already pledged, less than 10% of which has been received from donors.
Key figures
Dr Satish K Pillai, incident manager for the CDC’s Ebola response
Sources: The Guardian
