Former CDC Director Robert Redfield says a fast-growing Ebola outbreak involving the Bundibugyo strain could evolve into a major international health emergency as cases rise in Central Africa.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield warned this week that a rapidly expanding Ebola outbreak in Central Africa has the potential to become a large-scale international health crisis if containment efforts fail.
Speaking to NewsNation on Wednesday, Redfield described the outbreak as “very disruptive” and said the virus is spreading quickly through parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.
“It’s going to become a very significant pandemic, probably going to leak into Tanzania, leak into Southern Sudan, maybe leak into Rwanda,” Redfield said.
According to the CDC, health authorities have identified at least 575 suspected Ebola cases and 148 suspected deaths connected to the outbreak. Researchers at the London-based MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis reportedly believe the actual number of infections may already exceed 1,000.
The outbreak involves the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, a less common variant for which there is currently no approved cure.
Redfield expressed concern that health officials failed to identify the outbreak early enough to contain it effectively.
“Normally, we recognize them when we have five, 10 cases, at most,” Redfield said. “This one really wasn’t picked up until there was over 100 cases.”
“As you said, now there’s over 500 cases,” he continued. “There’s close to 150 deaths already, and it’s moving very rapidly.”
Researchers with the MRC Centre stated that the “true magnitude remains uncertain” as officials continue attempting to track transmission in affected regions.
World Health Organization adviser Dr. Vasee Moorthy warned that a vaccine specific to the Bundibugyo strain may still be six to nine months away from broader availability, although Redfield noted that an “experimental vaccine that’s been in trials” could potentially help slow the outbreak.
Medical facilities in Congo are reportedly struggling to manage the growing number of suspected Ebola patients. Healthcare workers have warned that hospitals lack adequate isolation areas and are rapidly reaching capacity.
Doctors Without Borders emergency manager Trish Newport described chaotic conditions inside treatment centers during social media updates from the region.
“Every health facility they called said, ‘We’re full of suspect cases. We don’t have any space,’” Newport stated. “This gives you a vision of how crazy it is right now.”
The New York Post reported that Dr. Richard Lokudu, a hospital director in the affected area, warned facilities could become overwhelmed without additional isolation and triage infrastructure.
“If the proper triage and isolation facilities” are not established, “we will be completely overwhelmed,” Lokudu said, adding that patients are currently “scattered” throughout hospital buildings.
The outbreak has also affected an American medical missionary working in Congo. Dr. Peter Stafford contracted the virus before being evacuated to Berlin for treatment.
“Before I was evacuated, I was really concerned I wasn’t going to make it, and now I’m cautiously optimistic,” Stafford said in comments shared through the Christian missionary organization Serge.
Although federal officials maintain that the immediate risk to Americans remains low, U.S. authorities have tightened travel screening measures connected to passengers arriving from affected regions.
A recent incident involving an Air France flight highlighted those precautions after a passenger from Congo boarded a flight to Detroit despite existing restrictions. The aircraft was later diverted to Montreal.
“Due to entry restrictions put in place to reduce the risk of the Ebola virus, the passenger should not have boarded the plane,” Customs and Border Protection told CBS News.
Health officials continue monitoring the outbreak as containment operations expand across Central Africa.
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