Former CDC Director Robert Redfield is sounding the alarm over a growing Ebola outbreak in central Africa, warning that the situation could spiral into a major international public health crisis if containment efforts continue lagging behind the spread of the virus.
Speaking with NewsNation on Thursday, Redfield described the outbreak involving the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola as “very disruptive” and “moving very rapidly,” while expressing disbelief that health authorities failed to recognize the outbreak sooner. According to Redfield, the delayed response may have already allowed the virus to spread far beyond the point where quick containment would have been possible.
“Normally, we recognize them when we have five, 10 cases, at most,” Redfield explained. “This one really wasn’t picked up until there was over 100 cases.”
Former CDC Director Robert Redfield is sounding the alarm over the growing Ebola outbreak in Africa, warning the virus could become "a very significant pandemic."
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That detail alone is enough to make public health officials nervous. Ebola outbreaks are typically treated like a five-alarm fire the moment even a handful of infections appear because once the virus gains momentum in unstable regions with weak healthcare infrastructure, things can deteriorate quickly.
Redfield, who served as CDC director from 2018 through 2021, said he and others in the public health community are “stunned” by the slow detection and early response. He also warned that the outbreak will likely spread beyond the Democratic Republic of the Congo into neighboring countries.
“I suspect this is going to become a very significant pandemic, probably going to leak into Tanzania, leak into southern Sudan, maybe leak into Rwanda,” he said.
The outbreak was officially declared by the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Ministry of Health on May 15 in Ituri Province after laboratory confirmation identified the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola. Unlike the more widely known Zaire strain responsible for previous deadly outbreaks, Bundibugyo currently has no approved vaccine specifically designed to combat it. That little detail is not exactly comforting.
Health officials report that symptoms include fever, severe weakness, vomiting, body pain, and in some cases bleeding. Ebola spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids from infected individuals or contaminated materials, making outbreaks particularly dangerous in crowded areas with poor sanitation and limited medical resources.
The conditions in eastern Congo only make the situation more difficult. Ongoing armed conflict, mass displacement, illegal mining activity, and constant cross-border movement have complicated efforts to track infections and isolate patients. Trying to stop a contagious virus in an active conflict zone is about as easy as organizing traffic during a tornado.
As of May 22, officials reported 744 suspected cases, 83 confirmed infections, and 176 suspected deaths tied to the outbreak. Uganda has already reported confirmed cases linked to travelers arriving from Congo, including one death. Additional cases have emerged in Ituri, Nord-Kivu, and Sud-Kivu provinces.
Some research groups reportedly believe the real number of infections may be significantly higher than official counts, which would mean health authorities are already playing catch-up.
The warnings from Redfield are likely to reignite debate over global health preparedness after the chaos of the COVID era. Americans remember all too well how quickly “don’t worry about it” can turn into lockdowns, emergency briefings, and bureaucrats pretending they had everything under control the entire time.
For now, officials insist containment efforts are underway. The problem is that viruses generally do not care about press releases.
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