WASHINGTON: The United States is stepping up its fight against Ebola, announcing an additional $38 million to help contain a fast-moving outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a stark warning: without urgent intervention, this outbreak could rival — or even surpass — the devastating West Africa epidemic of 2014–2016.
The new funds bring total U.S. support to more than $200 million.
While the State Department did not specify how the money will be spent, officials emphasised that Washington is working closely with the CDC, the DRC, and Uganda to mount a rapid and comprehensive response.
On Friday, the CDC released three scientific reports to rally international resources. Dr Satish Pillai, incident manager for the agency’s Ebola response, said the documents highlight the seriousness of the situation.
The outbreak involves the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola — a variant with no approved vaccine or treatment.
According to the DRC health ministry, the outbreak has already led to 452 confirmed cases and 82 deaths. Alarmingly, 71 new cases were reported in just 24 hours, underscoring the speed of community transmission.
CDC modelling shows that if patient isolation remains limited, the outbreak could become one of the largest ever documented.
“Without strong public health interventions, this could rival the scale of West Africa’s crisis,” warned Jason Asher, director of the CDC’s Centre for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics.
The CDC currently has about 30 staff in the DRC and 100 in Uganda, with additional experts deployed in recent weeks.
Meanwhile, U.S. officials are pursuing a strategy aimed at keeping Ebola out of American territory. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has vowed to prevent any cases from entering the country.
Temporary travel bans have been imposed on people who have recently been in the DRC, Uganda, or South Sudan — including green card holders, who are usually exempt. Americans returning from those countries are being screened at three major airports.
In a controversial move, the U.S. is building a quarantine facility in Kenya for citizens exposed to the virus but not showing symptoms.
Those who develop symptoms will not be brought home but instead sent to a third country. Local protests against the facility have already turned deadly, with two reported deaths, and a Kenyan court has ordered construction halted.
The United States does have 13 treatment centres ready to handle Ebola patients, part of a government-funded hospital network for severe infectious diseases.
Yet public health experts argue that sick Americans should be brought home for treatment, warning that leaving them abroad could undermine trust and safety.
As the outbreak accelerates, the world faces a familiar crossroads: act decisively now, or risk reliving one of the deadliest public health crises of the century.
