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Is Ebola the next major pandemic? CDC chief sounds alarm as African countries battle outbreak
Former CDC director warns Ebola could lead to a major pandemic, predicting spread to Tanzania, southern Sudan, and Rwanda.
Former Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention director Robert Redfield has issued a stark warning that Ebola could become the source of the world’s next major pandemic. He believes that the Ebola outbreak in Africa would expand to three more nations and turn into a "very significant pandemic."
In a recent interview with NewsNation, Redfield stated that he thinks it is "inevitable" that Ebola will eventually spread through airborne transmission, a development he cautioned might significantly boost the virus's potential for pandemics.
“I suspect this is going to become a very significant pandemic, probably going to leak into Tanzania, leak into southern Sudan, maybe leak into Rwanda,” Redfield said.
Read more: Ebola fears surge in Congo amid rapid spread of virus's rare type
Redfield warns of “disruption.”
According to the CDC, local health officials in the two countries reported 536 suspected cases, 105 probable cases, 34 confirmed cases, and approximately 134 suspected deaths from the outbreak.
The Congo and Uganda account for the majority of Ebola cases, currently.
“I suspect this is going to become a very significant pandemic, probably going to leak into Tanzania, leak into southern Sudan, maybe leak into Rwanda,” Redfield said.
He added, “So, it’s going to be very disruptive.”
Redfield called the outbreak a “significant public health international concern." He said, “This is an outbreak right now that is really a significant outbreak that’s of significant public health international concern, partially because what you said, it wasn’t recognized very quickly. I’m not sure why.”
He further continued talking about the Ebola outbreaks during his tenure and said, “Normally when we have these Ebola outbreaks, and I had three of them when I was CDC director, all of which were in the DRC, normally we recognize them when we have five, 10 cases, you know, at most.”
He emphasized, “This one really wasn’t picked up until there were over 100 cases.”
Redfield further warned, “As you said, now there are over 500 cases. There’s close to 150 deaths already, and it’s moving very rapidly.”
Read more: A new Ebola outbreak could be the worst in a decade
Ebola outbreak spreading fast
Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids from infected individuals and has historically caused severe but relatively contained outbreaks, primarily in parts of Africa.
According to the World Health Organization, Ebola virus disease has a fatality rate that can range from 25% to 90%, depending on the outbreak and healthcare access
The CDC stated that the May epidemic is the 17th Ebola outbreak in the area in the last 50 years, with the most recent outbreak ending last December.
According to reports, one American employee contracted the virus while working in the Congo and was sent to Germany for treatment.
Given the rapid spreading of the virus, the CDC and U.S. Customs and Border Protection will conduct "enhanced public health screening" for all U.S.-bound citizens and lawful permanent residents who have visited the Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan within 21 days of arriving in the United States, according to a travel advisory issued by the State Department on Thursday.
