A scary health risk in Uganda, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo spreads concern and caution beyond those east-central African countries. A growing outbreak of the often-fatal Ebola virus is declared a health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization (WHO), the health arm of the United Nations, which counts 800 suspected cases and more than 180 suspected deaths. Risk of a global epidemic remains low, the agency says. Ebola (pronounced EE-bowl-ah) damages blood vessels and prevents blood from clotting properly. It's transmitted through blood, other bodily fluid and contaminated surfaces.

In our country, a travel restriction applies to U.S. passport holders who were in the affected nations during May. They must fly into Atlanta, Houston or suburban Washington, D.C., for federal screening by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) at temporary clinics. Foreigners who were in the three nations can't come here for at least 30 days. Another precaution involves Congo's national soccer team and staff, which the White House said must isolate for three weeks in Belgium before it can fly to Houston on June 11 for World Cup matches. If anyone had symptoms, an official said, that would jeopardize the team's ability to compete.

The State Department sent $23 million to Congo and Uganda last week for protective equipment and other supplies. But a near-total 2025 freeze on U.S. foreign aid hinders relief efforts, critics claim. "The health system is on its knees here," said Heather Kerr, director in Congo for the International Rescue Committee, a humanitarian group. America used to fund disease surveillance networks across the region and had emergency medical teams there. Much of that ended with last year's shutdown of the Agency for International Development. "We are in a game of catch-up," says Greg Ramm, who works in Congo for a group called Save the Children. "There are not enough health resources. It's about getting basic infection prevention and control measures into health centers.”

A 2014-16 Ebola epidemic in West Africa remains the largest on record, with over 28,600 cases and 11,300 deaths, mainly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. America took on a major role then, sending more than 3,000 personnel from the military, CDC and U.S. AID. This time, the CDC says it has a few dozen people in the affected region.

White House says: "We are taking this extremely seriously. . . We want to make sure that there is nothing that is going to come in or near our borders here on this." – Andrew Giuliani,

WHO says: "Ebola case numbers are expected to keep increasing, given the amount of time the virus was circulating before the outbreak was detected."

U.S. patient says: "Before I was evacuated [to Germany] I was feeling really concerned I wasn't going to make it. And now I'm cautiously optimistic." -- Dr. Peter Stafford, who was with a missionary group in Congo