U.S. Moves to Keep Ebola at Bay, Weighs Kenya Quarantine Hub
By Ahmed Aboulenein and Trevor Hunnicutt
WASHINGTON, May 27 (Reuters) — The United States is stepping up efforts to keep the Ebola virus from crossing its borders, as a fresh outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo — the third-largest on record — continues to spread. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that the administration will not allow any cases into the country, signaling a more aggressive containment posture compared with the 2014 epidemic.
The outbreak, driven by the rare Bundibugyo strain, has already led to roughly 900 suspected cases and 220 deaths. The World Health Organization has classified it a public health emergency of international concern. But unlike 2014, when the U.S. treated Ebola patients at specialized infectious disease centers on home soil, the Trump administration is now focused on keeping the virus overseas — a strategy that has sparked debate among public health experts.
Speaking at President Donald Trump’s cabinet meeting, Rubio declared: “We cannot and will not allow any cases of Ebola to enter the United States.” The administration’s approach includes discussions with Kenya to set up a quarantine facility for U.S. citizens exposed to the virus, according to two U.S. officials who spoke to Reuters. The Kenyan government has yet to approve the plan.
The idea of a hastily built quarantine hub in Kenya has raised concerns among infectious disease specialists. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, questioned whether a new facility could match the standards of existing U.S. centers. “I can’t imagine you can build a facility de novo in Kenya to have that same standard we already have in these NETEC centers,” he said, referring to the National Ebola Training and Education Centers. Adalja also warned that such moves could discourage doctors from volunteering for outbreak response.
Last week, a U.S. medical missionary who had been treating patients in the DRC was confirmed to have contracted Ebola and was evacuated to Germany, along with five others who were exposed. A seventh person was taken to the Czech Republic. The Washington Post reported that the White House initially resisted allowing the missionary to return to the United States, delaying treatment — a claim the administration has not publicly addressed.
The U.S. has ramped up assistance in the region, sending a top CDC official and committing millions of dollars in aid. Travel restrictions have been imposed on people who have visited the DRC, Uganda, and South Sudan, and the CDC is screening U.S. citizens at three airports. But some infectious disease experts argue that border screening is often ineffective at halting the spread of a virus. Chris Meekins, a former health official in Trump’s first term, suggested the administration is trying to avoid repatriating exposed individuals because “they don’t believe they have a lot of bandwidth at facilities in the U.S.” He pointed to the ongoing quarantine of people exposed to hantavirus on a cruise ship as an example of limited capacity.
The policy shift reflects a broader debate: whether it is safer to treat Ebola patients at home, where advanced care is available, or to contain them overseas to minimize domestic risk. The outcome of Kenya’s decision — and the fate of the quarantine hub proposal — could set a precedent for future global health emergencies.
(Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein, Trevor Hunnicutt and Yasmeen Abutaleb in Washington and Michael Erman in New York; Editing by Caitlin Webber, Caroline Humer, Matthew Lewis and Deepa Babington)