US Restricts Citizens Returning from DRC Due to Ebola Outbreak

The US has imposed a temporary restriction on its citizens who have been in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the past 21 days from returning to the country on commercial flights due to the Ebola outbreak.The US embassy in the DRC stated on its website that all US citizens and nationals in the DRC must wait outside the country for at least 21 days before entering the US.Those who do not meet this requirement will not be allowed on US-bound flights, the statement said, adding that the measure was implemented due to the continued spread of the Ebola outbreak in various parts of the DRC.The Ebola outbreak, declared on May 15 in the DRC, has resulted in 2,011 confirmed cases and 754 deaths. The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that the current outbreak is the fastest-spreading to date, with approximately 80% of new cases coming from individuals not on contact lists, indicating that undetected chains of transmission continue and the actual number of cases may be 2 to 4 times higher than reported.According to health officials, the current outbreak, caused by the rare "Bundibugyo" Ebola virus variant, has no approved treatment or vaccine. The Ebola virus, which causes a type of hemorrhagic fever, first emerged in 1976 in simultaneous outbreaks in Sudan's Nzara and the DRC's Yambuku. The disease was named after the Ebola River, near which the outbreak in the DRC began.