CDC Boosts Efforts to Fight Congo Ebola Outbreak

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has stepped up its efforts to help fight the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

There have been 3,004 cases and 2,006 deaths in the Ebola outbreak in the country as of Aug. 28, according to the DRC health ministry. Previously unaffected areas -- including the province of South Kivu -- have recently reported cases, which increases the risk for the outbreak spreading within DRC and to neighboring countries, the CDC said. Recently, the CDC doubled the number of outbreak response experts in DRC and will have 30 responders on the ground by Sept. 1. To date, there have been more than 360 deployments by CDC staff.

"Far too many lives have been lost in this Ebola outbreak. The DRC, U.S. government, and international partners are working hard to overcome the significant challenges to stopping the spread of this disease in DRC," CDC Director Robert Redfield, M.D., said in an agency news release. "CDC is prepared for a long-term public health response in DRC and its neighboring countries, and we agree with our World Health Organization colleagues about the need for a change in the response to bring this outbreak to an end."

On Friday, officials confirmed that a Congolese girl who tested positive for Ebola in Uganda has died. Because the 9-year-old girl passed from Congo to Uganda through an official entry point, Ugandan health officials believe she had no contact with any Ugandan, CBS News reported. An official said the girl's body will be repatriated with her mother back to Congo for a funeral.

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