US Briefing on DRC Ebola Outbreak

Hi Folks,

These are my notes from a conference calling 'on background', meaning that the information can be used without attributing the names of officials. It involved officials from the National Security Council which is part of the White House, the US Agency for International Development, the US State Department and the US National Institutes of Health.  Daniel

US officials are 'greatly concerned' about the trajectory of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. They also say there 'remains a risk of a further spread within the DRC and into neighboring countries'. This is according to officials who spoke during a background briefing by a group of US agencies dealing with the crisis. The Trump administration is providing financial and technical assistance to the DRC, the World Health Organization and local health workers. They assess the security situation in Beni is still "too tenuous" to authorize US officials to be on the ground where the outbreak is being directly managed. They cite a renewed outbreak of violence, including violence near the 'operations center' (presumably referring to the Ebola operations center).  They are "constantly reevaluating"  the security situation. They would be willing to deploy if their assessment changes. They are looking at ways to further support other individuals on the ground. They are also evaluating security in all of the places experiencing the outbreak, not just Beni town.  The US is also providing assistance to neighbouring Rwanda, Uganda and South Sudan to reduce the potential risk of spreading to those countries. US officials describe a 'strong internal capacity' of health teams from the DRC who have previously dealt with Ebola epidemics, though they described this as the largest outbreak in the country to date. They say the international effort is being hampered by armed groups and community resistance, which remains a 'complex situation'. But a multi-agency disaster assistance response team, known by the acronym DART, has been authorized by the White House National Security Council to provide ongoing assistance, 24 hours a day.  This demonstrates that the US remains focused on tackling this outbreak.  The US is also involved in training deployed health workers in infection control, maintenance of healthcare facilities and safe burials.  The US is monitoring the outbreak and providing strategic assistance in Kinshasa and elsewhere.  The US is also heavily involved in the efforts to provide vaccinations, and to date more than 29,000 people have been vaccinated. They are administered to a circle of people who are "contacts of contacts of contacts" of those already infected. There are currently no plans to administer vaccines beyond that, aside from some very targeted vaccinations of small villages. They are also trialing different vaccines to see which one is most effective.