The United States has activated its highest-level public health response to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as the country reported a continued rise in confirmed infections and deaths.
The Democratic Republic of Congo said that the number of confirmed Ebola cases had reached 1,274, including 360 deaths, Reuters reports.
In response to the worsening outbreak, US health authorities announced the deployment of experimental Ebola treatments to the affected region and elevated the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) response to Level 1, the agency's highest activation level.
"Our assessment (is) that the risk to the United States continues to remain low," said Satish Pillai, who is leading the CDC's Ebola response.
The CDC noted that it had previously activated a Level 1 response during the 2014 Ebola epidemic, the deadliest outbreak of the disease on record.
According to a CDC official, the heightened response level serves as an "internal cue" indicating that the outbreak has become the agency's highest operational priority.
"We will mobilize staffing and additional resources as efficiently and rapidly as possible," the official said.
By Vafa Guliyeva
