CDC Director Robert Redfield, MD, will travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo next week, reports STAT.
Dr. Redfield will visit the Congo, which is experiencing the second-worst Ebola outbreak in history, with Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, director-general of the World Health Organization.
Dr. Tedros will visit two cities in the outbreak zone — Katwa and Butembo — according to a WHO statement cited by STAT. It is not clear whether Dr. Redfield will also visit these cities.
"To protect the safety of CDC staff, including leadership, we don't confirm travel or discuss specific locations of deployed staff members," CDC spokesperson Kate Grusich told STAT via email.
The CDC withdrew employees from the Congo's outbreak zone in October 2018 due to security concerns. At the time, Dr. Redfield said he pushed for American experts to stay in the Congo to help address the outbreak.
As of March 2, health officials have reported 894 confirmed and probable Ebola cases linked to the outbreak, including 561 deaths.