The Americans at Risk

At least six American citizens have been exposed to Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Three of them had what sources described to CBS News as "high-risk contact or exposure." One is showing symptoms.

The CDC confirmed it is "supporting interagency partners who are actively coordinating the safe withdrawal of a small number of Americans who are directly affected by this outbreak."

At a Sunday press conference, CDC Response Incident Manager Satish Pillai declined to confirm the exact number of Americans involved or whether any have tested positive. He said he was unaware of any infected individuals boarding international flights and that screening was in place at airports in both the DRC and Uganda.

The New York Times separately confirmed that an American doctor is among the confirmed Ebola cases.

The Outbreak Was Already Out of Control Before Officials Acknowledged It

This outbreak did not begin on May 15. According to the WHO, the first known case was a health worker in Bunia, DRC, who developed symptoms on April 24. Fever, hemorrhaging, vomiting, intense malaise. That person died.

It then took nearly three more weeks before health officials officially declared Ebola was spreading.

By the time the WHO declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on May 17, the toll was already substantial: more than 330 suspected infections and at least 88 deaths.

Boghuma Titanji, an infectious disease physician at Emory University, told NPR: "My immediate impression was that this is an extraordinarily large number of deaths and suspected cases that was being reported in what was supposed to be a new outbreak."

Why Did It Take So Long to Detect?

Two reasons stand out.

First: the strain. This outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo species of Ebola — a strain so rare it hadn't been seen in over a decade. It has only caused two previous outbreaks in recorded history. Standard blood tests screened for more common Ebola species. According to BBC News, those initial tests came back negative — giving false reassurance while the virus spread.

Second: funerals. According to Reuters, traditional burial practices that involve close contact with the deceased allowed the virus to move through communities before anyone knew what they were dealing with.

Flawed diagnostics masked the outbreak. Cultural practices amplified it. Weeks passed.

Jeremy Konyndyk, president of Refugees International and former USAID disaster response director, told NPR: "This outbreak has a lot of momentum."

That momentum is the direct result of a three-week detection failure.

No Vaccine. No Quick Fix.

The Bundibugyo strain adds another complication: there is no approved vaccine. Experimental vaccines are in development, and it's possible a vaccine designed for another Ebola species might offer some cross-protection — but that remains uncertain.

The two previous Bundibugyo outbreaks killed roughly a third of those infected. That's the baseline the world is working from.

What This Means for Regular Americans

The CDC says the risk to the American public remains low. Ebola does not spread through the air. It requires direct contact with bodily fluids. The U.S. travel restrictions covering DRC, Uganda, and South Sudan add another layer of protection.

But six Americans are currently in the DRC, at least one infected, others exposed. The outbreak had three weeks of undetected spread. There is no approved vaccine for this strain. And the detection system that is supposed to catch these things failed to identify it while people were dying.

The State Department upgraded its DRC travel advisory to Level 4 — "Do Not Travel" on Sunday. That is the highest tier. It was previously Level 3, based mostly on crime and unrest.