CDC: Ebola cases in Congo top 1,000

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has exceeded 1,000 confirmed or probable cases, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported yesterday. “This is a disappointing milestone,” said CDC Director Robert Redfield, M.D. “This remains a highly complex Ebola outbreak with active Ebola transmission in 21 health zones. Despite this, CDC will continue to work 24/7 with our partners in DRC, in DRC’s neighboring countries, and around the world to prevent the spread of Ebola and bring this outbreak to an end.” The DRC Ministry of Health last August declared the outbreak in North Kivu Province, where armed conflict and other factors have complicated the public health response and increased the risk of the disease spreading locally and to neighboring countries. The ongoing outbreak serves as a reminder for U.S. health care facilities to review their infection prevention and control processes to safely identify and manage patients with communicable infections, CDC said this month.