ATLANTA — The renewed Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is raising global concern.
While the risk here in the U.S. remains low, the impact overseas is significant as we prepare for the FIFA World Cup, and athletes from the DRC are set to play in Atlanta.
Channel 2’s Karyn Greer spoke with the widow of NBA great Dikembe Mutumbo, who returned from her home country a month ago just before the outbreak began.
Mutombo and his wife, Rose, founded a hospital and cancer center there in 2007 to honor their family and improve local healthcare.
“It’s the northeastern part of Congo. There is a war going on. There is a lot that’s going on, so there is a population who have been misplaced,” Rose Mutumbo said.
Their hospital is in the capital city of Kinshasa. The outbreak is in the Ituri Province, hundreds of miles away.
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“There is a specific hospital, a clinic, and a health center that takes care of that,” Rose Mutumbo said.
She is a trained medical professional and has been self-isolating since she returned home to Atlanta
Rose Mutumbo said that despite advances in vaccines, misinformation and fear complicate response efforts
“I cannot believe that I was there only four weeks ago, and here I am. What? A week or so after I get back, I learn about the news. But I was in the capital city of Kinshasa, and Kinshasa is about 2,000 kilometers from the Ituri Province where the Ebola has occurred,” Rose Mutumbo said.
Mutumbo said it’s sad this is occurring as athletes from the DRC are preparing to come to Atlanta to play in the World Cup
“That is a big disappointment. The entire nation is excited. Congo has now qualified for the World Cup in 52 years. So finally, we made it,” Rose Mutumbo said. “Now, Ebola happened.”
Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is now one of the us entry points screening travelers who have been in the DRC, Uganda or South Sudan within the past 21 days.
Mutumbo said she is happy to see those screenings for people coming back into the US.
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