The United States advised its citizens to avoid all travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo due to the Ebola outbreak, after a second American aid worker contracted the virus while participating in efforts to combat the worsening outbreak in the country, according to Bloomberg.

The US Embassy in Kinshasa explained in a health alert issued Saturday that travelers exposed to the Ebola virus are required to undergo quarantine outside Congo for up to 21 days at their own expense.

The alert noted that the US government will provide life-saving medical assistance to citizens exposed to the virus, but it did not specify whether these guidelines include humanitarian workers or medical teams already deployed in the country.

Widespread Outbreak

This warning comes as the outbreak expands, with international relief organizations and foreign medical teams becoming a key part of Congo's response to the crisis. More than 112 health workers have been infected with the virus, 35 of whom have died, highlighting the risks faced by frontline workers.

These guidelines appear broader than previous US health warnings. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had described the risk of transmission to the general American public as low, and had previously recommended avoiding nonessential travel to affected provinces, while continuing to support response efforts through contact tracing and risk assessment.

Craig Spencer, an emergency medicine physician who treated Ebola patients in West Africa, said via social media: "The contradiction and lack of clarity on very basic issues are puzzling and concerning."

He added: "This could have a significant negative impact on the scale of the US contribution and American workers' involvement in ending this outbreak."

The outbreak has now spread to five provinces after authorities added Tshopo and Haut-Uele to the affected areas.

365 new cases were recorded last week, including 151 people who entered treatment centers on Wednesday alone, bringing the total confirmed cases to 1,926, and deaths to 702, while more than 90% of cases remain concentrated in Ituri province.

The newly diagnosed case is the second infection of an American aid worker during this outbreak.

A spokesman for the German Federal Ministry of Health told the German Press Agency that the infected individual arrived overnight at Frankfurt Airport before being transferred to Frankfurt University Hospital.

In May, surgeon Peter Stafford contracted Ebola while treating patients in eastern Congo, and was airlifted to Germany for treatment before later returning to the United States.