Travel restrictions have been ramped up after France confirmed its first case of Ebola this week.
The Democratic Republic of Congo, which is battling an outbreak of a rare strain of Ebola, has imposed a 21-day quarantine for anyone returning from Ebola-affected areas before they can travel abroad.
The restrictions come after France reported its first imported case of Ebola linked to the current outbreak.
The outbreak is being driven by the Bundibugyo strain, which has up to a 50 percent mortality rate. There is no vaccine or treatment for the strain.
Government data released Wednesday reported 1,118 Ebola cases and 291 deaths, making this Ebola outbreak the second largest on record, according to the CDC.
France’s case is in a humanitarian doctor who was on a commercial flight from Kinshasa. While he was showing no symptoms when he boarded, he became sick mid-flight.
DRC health minister Samuel-Roger Kamba signed a decree Wednesday requiring anyone identified as a contact of a confirmed or suspected Ebola case to undergo 21 days of health monitoring.
During this period, all travel, both domestic and international, is banned unless explicitly granted permission by health authorities.
Healthcare workers tend to an Ebola patient at the Rwampara Treatment Center in Ituri, Congo
A healthcare worker in personal protective equipment stands near displaced people waiting for the burial of suspected Ebola victims in the DRC
The travel restrictions also apply to healthcare workers, lab staff and response teams returning from affected areas.
Additionally, anyone who has stayed in a province in the DRC with Ebola cases may only travel abroad after they’ve spent at least 21 days outside of the area.
All international passengers arriving in the DRC must complete a health declaration form and undergo any applicable airline screening measures.
In France, the patient is said to be in a stable condition but has been isolated to prevent spread of the virus.
Officials maintain that the risk to the general European population is low.
However, contact tracing efforts are underway as they work to identify anyone who may have been exposed through contact with the doctor.
The outbreak in the DRC was declared an international health emergency by the World Health Organization on May 17. On the same day, Rwanda closed its land border with the DRC to prevent the spread of the virus.
Since then, the French patient is the second to be treated for the virus in Europe, after an American doctor who contracted Ebola in the DRC was flown to Germany for treatment last month.
In the US, the CDC has a level 3 travel advisory in effect for the DRC, indicating to Americans to ‘reconsider nonessential travel’ to the country. No cases of Ebola associated with this outbreak have been identified in the US.
The American embassy in the DRC said last month: ‘The US government is extremely limited in its ability to provide emergency services to US citizens in Ituri province. Do not travel to this area for any reason.’
Healthcare workers carry a possible Ebola patient on a stretcher from an ambulance at the Ebola Treatment Center (ETC) in Bunia, Ituri, in the DRC
A sign warns travelers about Ebola at the Stockholm Arlanda Airport in Sweden
Ituri province is the epicenter of the outbreak. CDC officials maintain the risk to the general US public remains low but urged travelers to the area to avoid contact with any sick individuals.
The CDC has also said travelers should watch for symptoms of Ebola for 21 days after leaving the DRC.
Last month, US officials introduced travel restrictions for people coming to America from the DRC, Uganda and South Sudan, which currently remain in place.
The restrictions require any passenger who has visited these countries within the last 21 days to arrive via John F Kennedy International Airport in New York, George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia, and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport for enhanced screening.
This is the 17th Ebola outbreak in the DRC, where the virus is endemic, since it was discovered in 1976, but only the third caused by the Bundibugyo strain.
The other two Bundibugyo outbreaks were in 2007 and 2012.
The most recent Ebola outbreaks in the DRC were in 2018 and 2020 and they killed more than 1,000 people each. The largest Ebola outbreak occurred in 2014 to 2016 in West Africa when more than 28,600 cases were reported.
Ebola spreads through contact with the blood or body fluids of an infected person, as well as contact with contaminated objects or infected animals such as bats or primates.
Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle pain and weakness, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain and unexplained bleeding or bruising.
The mortality rate for the Bundibugyo virus ranges from 25 to 50 percent.
