The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an order on May 18 suspending entry into the United States for certain travelers connected to three African nations at the center of a deadly Ebola outbreak, invoking the same public health authority that became a major point of controversy during the border crisis earlier this decade.
The 30-day order applies to any traveler, regardless of nationality, who departed from or was present in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan within the previous 21 days.
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It also comes as the CDC said one American working in the Congo had contracted the disease.
“The person developed symptoms over the weekend and tested positive late Sunday,” Dr. Satish Pillai, the incident manager for the agency’s Ebola response, told reporters on a media call.
“CDC has been working hand in hand with the Department of State to move the American for treatment and care to Germany and other high-risk contacts to Germany for monitoring,” Pillai added Monday in a media briefing.
The CDC’s travel restriction was issued under Title 42, which grants federal health officials authority to restrict entry into the country to prevent the spread of contagious diseases, according to reports.
The measures will not apply to U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, lawful permanent residents, members of the U.S. military, government personnel overseas, and their spouses and children, according to the order.
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Other exemptions include individuals that customs officers identify as exceptions to the order, as well as non-citizens who would normally be subject to it but receive approval to enter from the Department of Homeland Security.
Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, with the Infectious Diseases Society of America, stated that interventions like restricting travel can be effective when coordinated with other countries. However, she emphasized that policies that “single out non-US citizens won’t prevent viruses from crossing our borders.”
The action follows the World Health Organization declaring the outbreak a public health emergency.
Health officials believe the virus may have caused around 80 deaths in recent weeks, while two confirmed Ebola cases have also been identified in neighboring Uganda, fueling concerns that the outbreak may no longer be confined to eastern regions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Medical personnel were rapidly deployed to the front lines of a new Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on May 18.
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The late detection of the virus and its quick spread have raised concerns among health experts.
According to the Congo Health Cluster, there have been 105 suspected deaths and 393 suspected cases reported as of Tuesday.
The CDC based its order on a key epidemiological fact: the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola can have an incubation period of up to 21 days.
This means that an infected person could board a plane, pass through standard symptom-based screenings, and arrive in the United States without displaying any signs of illness.
“The risk of Bundibugyo (Ebola) virus disease introduction into the United States is heightened by the virus’ incubation period, which can extend up to 21 days, allowing infected individuals to travel internationally while asymptomatic and therefore unlikely to be detected through routine symptom-based screening measures,” the agency said.
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“At this time, CDC assesses the immediate risk to the general US public as low, but we will continue to evaluate the evolving situation and may adjust public health measures as additional information becomes available,” the agency added.
The United States is actively developing a monoclonal antibody therapy as a potential treatment for this strain of Ebola, as stated by officials.
This work is being conducted by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).
Pillai mentioned that the U.S. has the capability to test for the virus through its public health laboratory network and emphasized that the risk to the United States remains low, per Reuters.
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