Exclusive: CDC Ebola experts pulled from outbreak zone due to security concerns

The CDC was forced to withdraw its Ebola experts from an outbreak area in the Democratic Republic of Congo several weeks ago due to security concerns, STAT's Helen Branswell reports. With more than 1 million displaced people and scores of armed rebel groups battling against government forces, the area is effectively a war zone. After an attack on U.S. peacekeepers in late August, U.S. staff — including some of the world's most experienced Ebola experts — were told they can't help with the on-the-ground response in the area. That's fueling about the effort to contain the epidemic.

“This outbreak is occurring in a highly insecure environment, which complicates public health response activities,” a State Department official, who spoke on condition he not be named, tells STAT. It's not clear yet whether U.S. experts might be allowed to go back to the outbreak zone.