Trump's USAID cuts may have slowed detection of Ebola outbreak that has killed at least 130, experts say - National & International News -

Trump’s USAID cuts may have slowed detection of Ebola outbreak that has killed at least 130, experts say

On April 24, a health worker in the Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of Congo reported symptoms consistent with Ebola. It has since been confirmed to be the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which there is no approved treatment. However, a local lab did not have the proper equipment to test for Bundibugyo and instead tested only for the more common Zaire variant. As a result, tests gave false negatives for Ebola and a new outbreak spread unchecked for weeks.

The Bundibugyo outbreak was only identified in lab tests last week. This new outbreak centered in DR Congo and Uganda is now believed to have killed at least 130 people and more than 500 cases are suspected. Among the cases is an American doctor working in DR Congo, who has now been flown to Germany for treatment.

Due to the weeks of lost response time, it is unclear how much the disease may have spread or where those potentially exposed may have gone to. This lack of surveillance makes containment that much more difficult. A lack of personal protective equipment and sanitation equipment for local health workers also puts them and their families at risk.

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, has declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern. In particular, Ghebreyesus cited concerns that the delay in detection has allowed the outbreak to spread further, making it more difficult to contain. This is further complicated by local mass displacement due to ethnic militia violence, which has recently intensified in Ituri.

The cost of cutting USAID

Former US officials and public health experts say cuts to USAID may have cost lives and valuable response time, although Trump administration officials deny this. It is impossible to say whether USAID cuts delayed the detection of the outbreak, but the resulting gap in resources certainly will not help in the response and containment efforts.

In past outbreaks, local USAID partners have helped fill in the gaps when it came to funding, expertise, surveillance, logistics, and equipment procurement which made it much easier to quickly contain these outbreaks as they arose. USAID funding cuts forced the International Rescue Committee (a former USAID contractor) to scale back its operations in Ituri, the province where the current outbreak appears to have originated. Other USAID partners who could have been helpful in the response have also had to cut back staff and their financial, logistical and staffing support for frontline clinics.

The CDC is monitoring the outbreak through its offices in DR Congo and is now attempting to open about 50 Ebola treatment centers in DR Congo. However, CDC response teams are currently prevented from going to Ituri due to the ongoing security concerns. Even if they were able to parachute in, they lack the knowledge of the local cultural, political and geographical terrain possessed by former local USAID partners, which proved invaluable during previous outbreaks.

USAID cuts exacerbate starvation in Afghanistan, leading desperate families to sell their daughters to buy food.