The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has sought volunteer staff for urgent deployment to assist with Ebola screening at the nation's entry points, according to an email circulated within the agency. The message said the CDC activated a Level 2 emergency response on May 18 in reaction to an outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.
The email, signed by the agency's acting director, stated that recruitment is being broadened beyond the CDC's standard pool of emergency responders as screening of selected international arrivals is being scaled up. Level 2 is described on the CDC's website as an intermediate level of response that signals a requirement for substantial additional staffing to meet operational demands.
Enhanced screening activities are already under way at several port health stations, the email said, and will require more personnel across a range of roles. The agency has asked staff including public health advisers, emergency specialists and licensed medical providers to volunteer to support the effort, subject to approval by supervisors.
According to the guidance in the email, volunteers assigned to screening duties could be responsible for monitoring travelers for signs of illness, checking temperatures and referring individuals who are suspected of having Ebola for further assessment. The communication reiterated that the ongoing outbreak involves the Bundibugyo strain of the virus.
Ebola is characterized in the email as a severe and often fatal disease that spreads through direct contact with infected bodily fluids. The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo strain the third-largest such outbreak on record and has designated it a public health emergency of international concern.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday that the fast-moving outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda was outpacing response efforts, and provided a latest figure of 220 suspected deaths.
Operational context
- The CDC has escalated its internal response level to meet the staffing needs created by expanded port-of-entry screening.
- Screening operations already active at multiple port health stations will be staffed by volunteers drawn from a range of public health and clinical roles.
- The outbreak involves the Bundibugyo strain; WHO has characterized it as a public health emergency of international concern and reported suspected deaths totaling 220.