Ebola outbreak: WHO declares emergency, US restricts travel, American infected
Ebola outbreak: WHO declares emergency, US restricts travel, American infected
埃博拉疫情：世卫组织宣布进入紧急状态，美国限制旅行，一名美国人感染
The Ebola outbreak first reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Friday has seemingly escalated quickly into a large, uncontrolled multinational outbreak. As of May 17, there were 10 confirmed cases, 336 suspected cases, and 88 deaths in the DRC, as well as two confirmed cases and one death in neighboring Uganda, according to the latest data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has offices in the region. The numbers already put the outbreak within the top 10 Ebola outbreaks recorded by size, though still far from the worst—the 2014–2016 West African outbreak had over 28,000 cases and 11,000 deaths.
周五在刚果民主共和国首次报告的埃博拉疫情似乎已迅速升级为一场大规模、失控的跨国疫情。根据美国疾病控制与预防中心（CDC）在该地区的最新数据，截至5月17日，刚果（金）已有10例确诊病例、336例疑似病例和88例死亡病例；邻国乌干达也有2例确诊病例和1例死亡病例。这些数字已使此次疫情跻身有记录以来规模最大的前10次埃博拉疫情之列，尽管与最严重的情况相比仍有差距——2014年至2016年的西非疫情曾导致超过2.8万人感染，1.1万人死亡。
International emergency
国际紧急状态
On Sunday, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), though it noted that it does not meet the criteria for a pandemic emergency. In making the PHEIC determination, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus cited several factors in addition to the immediate large size, including clusters of suspected cases and deaths in multiple DRC health zones, four deaths among healthcare workers, and a lack of apparent links between geographically distant cases and clusters. The features collectively suggest that the outbreak is larger than what is currently being detected and is spreading regionally.
周日，世界卫生组织宣布此次疫情为“国际关注的突发公共卫生事件”（PHEIC），但指出其尚未达到大流行紧急状态的标准。世卫组织总干事谭德塞在做出这一决定时，除了提到疫情规模大这一直接因素外，还列举了其他几个因素，包括刚果（金）多个卫生区出现疑似病例和死亡聚集性事件、四名医护人员死亡，以及地理位置遥远的病例和聚集性事件之间缺乏明显的关联。这些特征共同表明，疫情规模比目前检测到的要大，且正在区域内蔓延。
“Moreover, the ongoing insecurity, humanitarian crisis, high population mobility, the urban or semi-urban nature of the current hotspot, and the large network of informal healthcare facilities further compound the risk of spread,” the WHO said. The final extraordinary aspect of the outbreak is that it is caused by the uncommon Bundibugyo strain of Ebola virus, which has no clinically validated treatments or vaccines. This is only the third Ebola outbreak caused by Bundibugyo, which has had fatality rates of 25–50 percent. There are four virus strains known to cause Ebola disease in humans, and three have caused large outbreaks (Zaire, Sudan, and Bundibugyo). The most common strain is Zaire, for which treatments and vaccines have been developed. The viruses spill over from animals, including non-human primates and bats, and cause severe hemorrhagic fever, marked by diarrhea, vomiting, and bleeding. Person-to-person spread occurs via contact with bodily fluids and symptoms can develop between two and 21 days—though most often eight to 10 days—after an exposure.
世卫组织表示：“此外，持续的不安全局势、人道主义危机、高人口流动性、当前热点地区的城市或半城市性质，以及庞大的非正式医疗设施网络，进一步加剧了传播风险。”此次疫情的另一个特殊之处在于，它是由罕见的本迪布焦（Bundibugyo）型埃博拉病毒引起的，目前尚无临床验证的治疗方法或疫苗。这是历史上第三次由本迪布焦型病毒引起的埃博拉疫情，其致死率在25%至50%之间。已知有四种病毒株可导致人类感染埃博拉病毒，其中三种（扎伊尔型、苏丹型和本迪布焦型）曾引发大规模疫情。最常见的扎伊尔型已有相应的治疗方法和疫苗。这些病毒从包括非人类灵长类动物和蝙蝠在内的动物身上溢出，引起严重的出血热，表现为腹泻、呕吐和出血。人与人之间的传播通过接触体液发生，症状可在接触后2至21天内出现，最常见的是8至10天。
CDC response and infected American
CDC的应对措施及美国人感染情况
On Monday morning, the CDC announced on its website that it is implementing new travel restrictions, including screening and monitoring Americans arriving from DRC, Uganda, and South Sudan, while also barring the entry of non-US passport holders who have traveled in those countries in the past 21 days. Additionally, in a CDC press briefing on Monday afternoon, Captain Satish Pillai, incident manager for CDC’s Ebola response, said that one American in the DRC has been infected after being exposed as part of their work there. The person developed symptoms over the weekend and tested positive late Sunday. The CDC is now working to transfer that person, along with six other Americans, to Germany, where they will receive care. Pillai did not answer questions about the person’s identity or their work.
周一上午，CDC在其网站上宣布实施新的旅行限制，包括对从刚果（金）、乌干达和南苏丹抵达的美国人进行筛查和监测，同时禁止在过去21天内曾前往这些国家的非美国护照持有者入境。此外，在周一下午的CDC新闻发布会上，CDC埃博拉应对工作组事故经理萨蒂什·皮莱（Satish Pillai）上校表示，一名在刚果（金）工作的美国人在工作中接触病毒后被感染。该患者在周末出现症状，并于周日晚间检测呈阳性。CDC目前正努力将该患者及其他六名美国人转移到德国接受治疗。皮莱没有回答关于该患者身份或其工作性质的问题。
Serge, a Christian missionary organization, announced that the infected person is Dr. Peter Stafford, who has been working in the Nyankunde Hospital in Bunia, DRC, since 2023. The other six people the CDC is working to relocate are his wife, Dr. Rebekah Stafford, the couple’s four children, and a third doctor with the organization, Dr. Patrick LaRochelle. All three doctors had exposures, the organization said, but Rebekah Stafford and LaRochelle are currently asymptomatic. Pillai noted that the CDC considers the risk to the American public to be low.
基督教传教组织Serge宣布，感染者是彼得·斯塔福德（Peter Stafford）医生，他自2023年起一直在刚果（金）布尼亚的Nyankunde医院工作。CDC正在协助转移的其他六人包括他的妻子丽贝卡·斯塔福德（Rebekah Stafford）医生、这对夫妇的四个孩子，以及该组织的另一名医生帕特里克·拉罗谢尔（Patrick LaRochelle）医生。该组织表示，三名医生都有过接触史，但丽贝卡·斯塔福德和拉罗谢尔目前没有症状。皮莱指出，CDC认为这对美国公众构成的风险较低。