Statements made by international officials regarding the Ebola outbreak are starting to contradict each other amid fears triggered by the rising cases of the epidemic. Although the World Health Organisation (WHO) has previously argued that the current situation is nothing like the COVID-19 pandemic, the former Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield has sounded the alarm about suspicions suggesting otherwise.
On Wednesday, top WHO officials said that an Ebola vaccine against the Bundibugyo virus could take up to nine months as the death toll continues to rise. Revising previously listed figures, WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said there had been 600 unsuspected cases of Ebola and 139 suspected deaths. Even these numbers are expected to rise. Of the 600 suspected cases, the WHO revealed 51 had been confirmed in Congo’s provinces of Ituri and North Kivu.
The Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus was confirmed in the northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo on May 15, 2026, according to an official Federal Register notice by the US Department of Homeland Security. It eventually spread to Uganda. The WHO has since declared Ebola a public health emergency of international concern. And yet, the agency has stopped short of calling it a pandemic-level emergency.
WHO experts still believe that the outbreak actually began months ago, with the first suspected death reported on April 20, according to Reuters and AFP.
Former CDC director suspects Ebola will become the next pandemic
Sitting down for an appearance on NewsNation’s ‘Elizabeth Vargas Reports,’ Robert Redfield said, “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.”
He continued, “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 recognised very quickly. I’m not sure why.”
Recounting how he had to face three such outbreaks under his leadership at the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, he continued, “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 recognise them when we have five, 10 cases, you know, at most.”
Redfield predicted that this year’s epidemic, which is the 17th Ebola outbreak in the region within the past 50 years, will be “very disruptive.” Redfield added, “This one really wasn’t picked up until there was over 100 cases… As you said, now there’s over 500 cases. There’s close to 150 deaths already, and it’s moving very rapidly.”
Indian-origin NIH director grilled at hearing amid epidemic outbreak
Currently serving as the director of the National Institutes of Health under the Donald Trump administration, Jay Bhattacharya was pressed about funding cuts and staff shortages during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on Thursday (US time).
The prevailing chaos at the NIH was exposed to the public purview on May 21, as Jeffery Taubenberger stepped down as the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) ahead of the Thursday hearing, creating leadership gaps amid the emerging outbreaks (Ebola and Hantavirus).
Earlier this week, CDC, DHS and other US federal agencies implemented enhanced travel screening and entry restrictions to prevent Ebola disease from entering the US amid ongoing outbreaks in East and Central Africa. As per the new rules announced by US authorities, non-US passport holders who have been in Uganda, Congo or South Sudan in the previous 21 days will face entry restrictions in the US.
In an updated notice issued by US embassies overseas, officials stated, “all US-bound American citizens and lawful permanent residents (LPRs) who have been present in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan within 21 days of arrival in the United States must only enter through Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) for enhanced screening.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said Thursday, “We care about Ebola, we don’t want anyone dying or being affected by Ebola, but our number one priority will always be making sure it doesn’t come to the United States. Objective number two is do what we can to help the people of DRC and neighbouring countries so it doesn’t spread.”
Amid the enhanced screenings, an Air France flight coming from Paris was denied entry to the Detroit airport this week because a Congolese passenger had boarded the flight “in error,” according to the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The flight was ultimately briefly diverted to Montreal, Canada. The flight was allowed to enter Detroit after the passenger was removed from the flight in Canada.
Upon the plane’s arrival in the neighbouring country, Mark Johnson, a spokesperson for the Public Health Agency of Canada, issued a statement saying that a quarantine officer “assessed the traveller and determined they were asymptomatic. The traveller has departed back to Paris.”
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