CDC elevates Ebola response to highest level
Key takeaways
- More than 1,100 people across the DRC and Uganda have tested positive since May, and officials said they expect that number to continue to grow.
- “We are very concerned about the trajectory of cases, which are rising rapidly, as well as the continued geographic spread,” Pillai said, but emphasized there is no risk to the U.S.
- Pillai said escalating the agency s response to Level 1 is an internal signal that the Ebola response is going to be a top agency priority.
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More than 1,100 people across the DRC and Uganda have tested positive since May, and officials said they expect that number to continue to grow. At least 250 people have died, though the number is likely much higher since the virus appears to have been spreading undetected for months.
“We are very concerned about the trajectory of cases, which are rising rapidly, as well as the continued geographic spread,” Pillai said, but emphasized there is no risk to the U.S.
Pillai said escalating the agency s response to Level 1 is an internal signal that the Ebola response is going to be a top agency priority. While staffing levels will depend on the outbreak, the escalation shows “how seriously our acting director and our agency leadership take this response.”