The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is allocating $107 million in emergency funding to support the response to the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda. According to officials, the continued outbreak in the DRC, now the third largest on record, requires strong immediate support. Despite the severity of the outbreak, the global risk remains low. The outbreak has resulted in 837 confirmed cases in the DRC and 19 confirmed cases in Uganda as of June 15, with 198 reported deaths across both countries.
The CDC has deployed 23 field staff to support disease investigations and has 125 staff members working across the DRC and Uganda. The agency is also holding twice-weekly calls with US World Cup host cities to ensure preparedness. The outbreak has been further complicated by an outbreak of Bundibugyo viral disease (BVD), a rare zoonotic species of Ebola, which began roughly one month ago along the western border of the DRC and the eastern border of Uganda.
African health officials have warned that the outbreak could become the worst on record and take a year to contain at current infection rates. The CDC’s emergency funding will add to the approximately $910 million already pledged to combat the outbreak, although less than 10% of these funds have been received from donors. The CDC’s efforts are focused on controlling the outbreak in the DRC and Uganda, as well as ensuring domestic readiness to respond in the unlikely event of cases.
