U.S. Shifts Policy: Americans with Ebola at Kenya Facility May Be Treated in the United States
Key Insights
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Americans testing positive for Ebola (search) at a new U.S. quarantine facility in Kenya could be sent to the U.S. for treatment, marking a shift from prior administration statements.
The 50-bed facility at Laikipia Air Base in Kenya is designed primarily for asymptomatic Americans exposed to Ebola (search), with symptomatic individuals to be evacuated to Europe or the U.S. for advanced care.
NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya emphasized the goal is preventing "inadvertent entry" of Ebola (search) into the U.S., with over 2,000 passengers already screened at U.S. airports.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that Americans who test positive for Ebola (search) while under observation at a U.S.-run facility in Kenya could be sent for treatment in the United States — an apparent shift from the Trump administration's earlier position that no Ebola cases would be allowed into the country.
"If they test positive at any time while in that facility, we will remove them from Kenya and send them to the nearest treatment facility, either in Europe or in the home – or in the United States, to be treated for Ebola (search)," Rubio said at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing. The statement marked a notable departure from his assertion last week that "we cannot and will not allow any cases of Ebola to enter the United States."
The Trump administration has been working to establish a quarantine facility in Kenya for Americans exposed to Ebola (search) in the outbreak zone. The 50-bed unit at Laikipia Air Base is expected to become operational Friday, according to senior administration officials. Over 30 commissioned officers with the Public Health Service have been training at Andrews Air Force Base and are en route to Kenya to staff the facility.
Facility Designed for Asymptomatic Observation
Administration officials emphasized that the Kenya facility is intended primarily for observation of asymptomatic individuals who have had high-risk exposures. A U.S. official told CNN that if people are symptomatic or need care, they would be evacuated directly to Europe or the U.S. and would not go to the Kenya facility.
"The key thing is that, just make sure that there are no inadvertent cases imported in the United States, and to do that, we have these travel restrictions there for airports where screening is taking place for passengers that come from those areas, so they can get assessed by CDC (search) teams rapidly," said Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health and acting director of the CDC. "So far to date, I think, we've screened more than 2,000 passengers on this."
American citizens will not be able to return to the U.S. until they are cleared from quarantine, CDC (search) officials told CBS News. The State Department has contracted aircraft to keep on standby for potential medical evacuations, and the U.S. is working to move isolation units and biocontainment units to the Kenya facility, though there is no firm timeline on their arrival.
Treatment Options and European Capabilities
A U.S. official noted that facilities in the continental United States — including specialized hospitals such as Atlanta's Emory University — would likely accept citizens who test positive. The official also acknowledged "very strong facilities in Europe," including the hospital in Germany currently treating an American doctor who tested positive for the virus, noting those are "much closer."
Bhattacharya told CNN that treating American patients in the U.S. remains an option depending on individual circumstances. "We're not ruling out moving people out to the United States if we believe that case requires more intensive management," he said.
Outbreak Timeline and Response Challenges
The current outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo strain (search) of Ebola (search) rather than the more common Zaire strain, may have begun much earlier than initially recognized. Bhattacharya told CNN that "the estimates are that the outbreak has been going on since at least February." A local leader in the Democratic Republic of Congo told CNN that the first case may have occurred on February 22, months before the World Health Organization was alerted on May 5.
Initial tests for Ebola (search) were negative because local teams were looking for the Zaire strain, not the Bundibugyo strain (search) behind this outbreak. "So you just lost all those weeks and weeks and weeks before they were able to identify that it was Ebola and declare an outbreak," CNN's Clarissa Ward reported.
More than 230 people in Congo are believed to have died from Ebola (search) in this latest outbreak. The DRC health ministry declared an Ebola outbreak on May 15, and WHO declared it a public health emergency of international concern on May 17.
U.S. Response Resources
Bhattacharya said the CDC (search) has a team of 25 people in DRC at all times, largely based in Kinshasa, with additional staff surged for the outbreak response. Nearly 90 more CDC staff are based in Uganda, which has also seen cases. These teams are working on contact tracing and modeling projections for possible spread.
The State Department has released $80 million in funding to support the DRC, and an additional $107 million for "rapid response support" has been sent to Congress for approval after receiving signoff from U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Bhattacharya pushed back against concerns that cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development are hindering the response. "I have not seen any diminishment in our capacity to manage the outbreak," he said, while acknowledging the "massive challenge" posed by the remote, conflict-ridden environment where Ebola (search) is spreading.
Airport Screening Expands
Three U.S. airports — Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C., and Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport — are currently screening international passengers who have recently been in Congo, South Sudan, or Uganda for Ebola (search). New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport was expected to begin screening on Friday.