An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has caused alarm and raised questions about the serious viral illness this week. While officials first declared the outbreak on May 15, the virus likely had been sickening people for weeks before that. As a result, more than 130 deaths and more than 500 infections were suspected as of May 20.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Sunday declared a public health emergency of international concern to mobilize an international response and help prevent the disease from spreading between countries. 

In light of the headlines and a U.S. ban on travelers from affected countries, you might wonder how worried you should be.

While the outbreak is a serious concern in the DRC and nearby countries, the risk to people in the U.S. and most other regions of the world is extremely low, says Michele Barry, MD, senior associate dean of Global Health and director of the Stanford Center for Innovation in Global Health. Barry is a courtesy faculty member at Stanford Health Policy.

“Widespread transmission is very unlikely with Ebola,” she said. “However, a timely and collaborative global response is vital to support the DRC and its neighbors in tracking and containing this outbreak and saving lives.”

Barry has experience responding to Ebola in Uganda and Liberia and has written about how to strengthen health systems for more effective responses. She is among the few doctors to have cared for someone with a hemorrhagic virus in the US. 

Here are five things she wants you to know:

1. Ebola is much less contagious than COVID-19 or measles, and public risk outside of the affected region is very low.

“Ebola is extremely infectious, but not easily spread,” Barry emphasizes. It is infectious because exposure to a very small amount of the virus can trigger a potentially fatal infection. 

However, Ebola is transmitted via direct exposure to bodily fluids, making the risk to the general public much lower than with airborne diseases such as COVID-19 and measles. Typically, the disease spreads through direct contact with broken skin or unprotected mucous membranes. 

Handling the dead without adequate protective gear is the strongest risk factor, Barry adds. Healthcare workers can be at risk for airborne infection when medical procedures create aerosol particles containing the virus. 

“While risk for a pandemic is very low given the way the virus spreads,  the impact in the DRC and nearby countries could be devastating,” Barry said. “Countries like the U.S. should take a universal approach to quarantine and travel bans, as viruses don’t respect passports. Policies should be backed by scientific evidence and carefully coordinated with other countries to ensure that they are effective.”

Go To Full CIGH Q&A

This Q&A was written by Jamie Hansen, the communications manager at the Stanford Center for Innovation in Global Health