An American tests positive in Congo

An American man has tested positive for Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, linked to the deadly outbreak in central Africa that global health agencies are working to contain, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday.

The person was exposed through work in Congo, developed symptoms over the weekend and tested positive Sunday evening, Dr. Satish Pillai, Ebola response incident manager at the CDC, said in a phone call. The CDC and State Department are working to move this individual and six other Americans exposed to Ebola to Germany for treatment, care and monitoring.

But Pillai stressed that no cases linked to the outbreak have been confirmed in the United States and that the overall risk to the American public and travelers remains low.

Nonetheless, the CDC also announced Monday that for the next 30 days it would restrict entry into the country to people without U.S. passports who have been in the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan or Uganda in the past three weeks.

This update comes a day after the World Health Organization declared the Ebola outbreak a “public health emergency of international concern.” The outbreak does not meet the criteria for a “pandemic emergency,” but the WHO has warned that the high positivity rate and increasing cases and deaths portend a “potentially much larger outbreak” than what is detected and reported.

As of Sunday, more than 300 suspected cases and 88 suspected deaths were reported, mainly in Congo but also in neighboring Uganda, according to the CDC.

The specific virus involved in this outbreak, called Bundibugyo, has no vaccine or treatment. Historically, this virus has mortality rates ranging from 25 to 50 percent, the CDC added.

But agency officials told reporters Monday that work is underway to develop monoclonal antibody therapy as a potential treatment for this specific strain of Ebola.