US Citizen Tests Positive for Ebola in Congo

An American aid worker in Congo has tested positive for Ebola, a deadly disease that has been spreading quickly in the country. The worker is employed by Samaritan's Purse, a disaster relief group led by evangelist Franklin Graham. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, known as the CDC, confirmed the case on Friday. The outbreak has already killed more than 600 people and is the third-largest Ebola outbreak ever recorded.

The type of Ebola virus causing this outbreak is called Bundibugyo. There is no approved vaccine or treatment for this strain, so scientists around the world are working fast to create one. At least three separate international efforts are underway to develop a vaccine. This makes the outbreak especially dangerous and hard to stop.

The infected American worked on logistics — meaning he helped organize supplies and operations — in Bunia, a regional capital in northeastern Congo. He had been there for about a month and was not treating patients directly. He has been in isolation since Monday and is being treated at one of two Ebola care centers that Samaritan's Purse runs in Ituri province, the area at the center of the outbreak. The group did not share the worker's name.

This is the second American to get Ebola during this outbreak. The first was a missionary doctor named Dr. Peter Stafford, who tested positive shortly after the outbreak was officially declared on May 15. He was flown to a hospital in Berlin, Germany, where he received experimental treatments and later recovered. He has since returned home to the United States.

Where to send American Ebola patients for treatment has become a difficult question for the Trump administration. The U.S. government considered setting up a treatment center in Kenya for American patients, but people living near the planned location strongly opposed it. Kenyan courts also blocked the plan. A person familiar with the situation said plans were being made to fly the latest patient to a treatment center in Frankfurt, Germany.

The outbreak is the 17th time Ebola has broken out in Congo, and experts worry it could become the worst ever. Several factors are making it hard to control, including armed conflict in the region, gold mining that moves people around, and a weak local health system. The virus is also believed to have been spreading for up to five months before it was officially detected, giving it a big head start before health workers could respond.

The virus has continued to spread at an alarming pace. Congo's Health Ministry reported that cases were found in two new provinces this past week, including in Kisangani, a major city on the Congo River. Kisangani is a busy travel hub that connects many parts of the country, including the capital, Kinshasa. The spread to new areas makes it harder to contain the disease.

Congo has reported more than 1,800 Ebola cases and at least 648 deaths. The virus has also spread to the neighboring country of Uganda, which has reported 20 confirmed cases and two deaths, according to the World Health Organization. Cases involving international health workers are especially sensitive because those workers travel between countries. After France recorded its first case when a returning aid worker tested positive, Congo required all travelers from Ebola-affected areas to quarantine for 21 days.

Health experts have said that budget cuts made by the Trump administration hurt important disease tracking systems and medical supply chains. They argue these cuts made it harder to detect and contain the outbreak early. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in May that no Ebola patients would be allowed into the United States, though he later appeared to soften that position. The CDC says the risk to the American public and travelers remains low, and no Ebola cases have been confirmed in the United States.