- Home
- Advocacy
- Latest News and Practice Data
- CDC Releases Specimen Guidance for Ebola as Uganda Deals with Outbreak
In response to an outbreak of Ebola in East Africa, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released guidance for clinical laboratories for Ebola specimen collection in the United States on October 18. The CDC guidance followed a Uganda Ministry of Health (MOH) announcement of the first positive case of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Uganda in 2022, caused by the Sudan virus (species Sudan ebolavirus) with the World Health Organization stating Uganda's Ebola outbreak is “rapidly evolving.”
No confirmed cases of Ebola virus in the US
The CDC stated in its guidance that clinical laboratories should consult with public health laboratories before shipping specimens. Eleven public health laboratories within the laboratory response network (LRN) can perform Ebola testing for the Sudan strain. The CDC published resources available on methods for collecting and shipping Ebola specimens.
At this time, there are no Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved countermeasures such as vaccines or therapeutics for Ebola Sudan strain. In addition, there are not any FDA-approved rapid tests for the Sudan strain, but the FDA is currently in discussion with other federal agencies to address this issue.