Atlanta's Ebola Preparedness Tested as Congo Team Arrives for World Cup Amid Deadly Outbreak
Key Insights
A rare Ebola (search) strain has infected over 1,100 people and killed more than 300 in Congo and Uganda, with no available vaccine or treatment.
France confirmed its first imported case after a humanitarian doctor fell ill on a commercial flight from Kinshasa, prompting Congo to impose a 21-day quarantine for international travelers.
Atlanta's Emory Healthcare, which successfully treated two Ebola (search) patients in 2014, maintains a biocontainment unit and collaborates with the CDC, Grady Memorial Hospital, and state health authorities.
As the Democratic Republic of Congo's national team prepares to face Uzbekistan in a FIFA World Cup match at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday, public health officials are confronting a stark reality: the country is in the grip of a deadly Ebola (search) outbreak that has already crossed international borders. On Wednesday, France confirmed its first case of a new Ebola strain imported from Congo after a humanitarian doctor fell ill with symptoms midway through a commercial flight from Kinshasa.
The outbreak has infected more than 1,100 people and killed more than 300 across Congo and Uganda, driven by a rare strain for which there is no vaccine or treatment. In response, Congo imposed a 21-day quarantine requirement for anyone seeking to travel abroad after returning from an Ebola (search)-affected area. The United States had already implemented travel restrictions weeks ahead of the World Cup.
"I think the overall risk to the public is not as high as many may think," said Dr. Gavin Harris, a critical care and serious communicable diseases specialist with Emory Healthcare, in an interview conducted before Ebola (search) reached France.
Atlanta's Unique Preparedness Infrastructure
Harris emphasized that Atlanta is unusually qualified to handle such a dangerous disease. Emory Healthcare operates a dedicated biocontainment unit and has been collaborating for years with specialists at Grady Memorial Hospital, the Georgia Department of Public Health, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (search), located near the Emory School of Medicine where Harris serves as an assistant professor.
In 2014, two American health care workers infected while treating Ebola (search) patients in Liberia — Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol — were isolated and successfully treated at Emory University Hospital. Emory's Serious Communicable Disease Unit had been established a dozen years prior with CDC support, which sought such a service for any employees who fell ill during overseas assignments.
"We are probably more prepared than a lot of other places are and especially in the metropolitan area of Atlanta," Harris said.
Respiratory Viruses Pose Greater Crowd Risk
Despite heightened concerns about Ebola (search), Harris advised that fans attending Saturday's match or any other World Cup event at Mercedes-Benz Stadium should be more concerned about domestic diseases. Ebola and other viral hemorrhagic fevers require close bodily contact to spread, traveling through bodily fluids. By contrast, diseases such as measles (search), chicken pox (search), and influenza (search) can spread rapidly through crowds because, as respiratory viruses, they are airborne.
Harris recommended that immunocompromised individuals consider wearing a mask and that all attendees practice hand hygiene using hand sanitizer or soap and water when possible. Those who experience respiratory distress, nausea, feverishness, or develop a rash after returning home should call for help, noting that 911 call takers have been trained to recognize symptoms of serious communicable diseases.
Anyone suspecting measles (search) infection should quarantine at home, Harris added, noting that the disease has been on the rise, in part due to waning rates of immunization.