Former CDC chief warns Ebola outbreak might turn into ‘very vital pandemic’
The Ebola outbreak has been declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization, as former CDC Director Robert Redfield warns it could become a ‘very significant pandemic’
Red Cross workers arrive at a health center, to transport people who died of Ebola, in Rwampara, Congo, Wednesday, May 20, 2026(Image: AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
A former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has warned that he believes the Ebola outbreak will escalate into a “very significant pandemic”.
Robert Redfield expressed his concerns on Wednesday, May 20 during an interview on NewsNation: “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.”
“So, it’s going to be very disruptive.”
Ebola is a highly infectious disease spread through contact with bodily fluids. It often results in fatal haemorrhagic fever, swift multi-organ failure and internal or external bleeding.
The majority of cases from the outbreak have been confirmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.
Local health officials in these two countries reported 536 suspected cases, 105 probable cases, 34 confirmed cases and approximately 134 suspected deaths from the outbreak, according to the CDC.
Redfield’s remarks come just days after the CDC initiated screening of certain travellers at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport on Wednesday, May 20 in response to the outbreak.
Earlier in the week, the CDC also announced that any US passport holder who has visited the DRC, Uganda or South Sudan within the past three weeks will be denied entry into the country. The ban will remain in place for at least 30 days, as per an order issued by the CDC on Monday.
Ebola cases continue to surge across regions of East and Central Africa, leading the World Health Organization to declare the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
Reports suggest that at least six Americans have been exposed to Ebola.
An American doctor who contracted Ebola in the DRC has been airlifted to Germany for treatment, along with his wife and four children. This comes as the World Health Organization warns about the “scale and speed” of the outbreak.
“This is an outbreak right now that is really a significant outbreak that’s of significant public health international concern, partially because what you said, it wasn’t recognised very quickly. I’m not sure why,” Redfield said.
US President Donald Trump also expressed his concerns about the Ebola outbreak this week.
When quizzed by a reporter about his worries regarding the virus, Trump replied: “[I] certainly am.
“I think that it’s been confined right now to Africa, but its something that has had a breakout.”
