The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention closed its offices in Angola and South Sudan on Oct. 1, according to Politico reporting summarized by Becker's Hospital Review. The Zimbabwe office is set to close at the end of the year, and current and former CDC officials told Politico they expect a dozen or more other foreign offices to close in the next few years.
The closures matter beyond Africa because these offices have served as an early warning system for outbreaks. Travelers who were recently in South Sudan must enter the U.S. through designated airports for enhanced Ebola screening while a large outbreak continues in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
