CDC activates emergency operations center for Ebola outbreak in Congo

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today activated its Emergency Operations Center to support the interagency response to the Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, following confirmation of three travel-associated cases in Uganda. CDC activated the center at Level 3, the lowest level, noting that the risk of global spread of Ebola remains low. “Through CDC’s command center we are consolidating our public health expertise and logistics planning for a longer term, sustained effort to bring this complex epidemic to an end,” said CDC Director Robert Redfield, M.D. Since the DRC outbreak began last August in a region with armed conflict, CDC has deployed 187 staff to assist local and international partners in the response. With more than 2,000 cases and nearly 1,400 deaths to date, the current DRC outbreak is the second largest in history. CDC will host a webinar June 19 at 1 p.m. ET on the current situation, and on how organizations sending U.S.-based workers to areas with Ebola can ensure the health and safety of their workers before, during and after deployment.