The CDC’s Own Workers Are Calling It Abandonment
The union, the reversal, the escaped cases, and the World Cup — here's where things stand.
The Ebola outbreak has reached more than 350 confirmed cases and more than 60 deaths. A confirmed case traveled through the UAE, where 16 contacts are now isolated in Dubai. No approved vaccine or treatment exists for the Bundibugyo species. The WHO needs $115 million for the next three months. Only 35% is funded.
Today, the union representing over 2,400 CDC workers issued a statement demanding the administration bring exposed workers home. AFGE Local 2883 President Yolanda Jacobs called the Kenya plan “a sharp departure from every previous administration” and said the government is abandoning the people it needs most.
Rubio’s reversal
Late today, Secretary of State Marco Rubio appeared to reverse himself. At a Senate hearing, he said Americans who test positive in Kenya would be sent to “the nearest treatment facility, either in Europe or in the home or in the United States.” One week ago, he said the administration “cannot and will not allow any cases of Ebola to enter the United States.” He called the controversy a “misunderstanding.” He also announced $660 million for Gavi, the vaccine alliance HHS Secretary Kennedy cut last year.
What Tedros saw in Bunia
WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says the virus still has a big head start. A superspreader funeral in late April sent it spreading for weeks before detection. The outbreak may have started as early as January. Contact tracing is at 45%, which is an improvement, but it needs to be 90%. Community leaders told Tedros they don't believe Ebola is real.
In the DRC, where US funding covered 70% of health supplies, nearly 3,000 doctors and nurses were dismissed after USAID cuts. Less than 30% of healthcare workers remain. My sources on the ground tell me that five of six active Ebola cases in North Kivu have escaped isolation.
What Rubio’s reversal actually means
It would be easy to hear Rubio say “in the United States” and conclude the policy has changed. I’m not sure it has.
He said the Kenya facility is for “observation” (i.e. quarantine) not treatment. Americans who test positive would be sent to “the nearest treatment facility, either in Europe or in the home or in the United States.”
That language is hedged. “The nearest treatment facility” could mean Europe in most scenarios, since Kenya is closer to Europe than to the US. “Or in the United States” could be an option that exists on paper but is never used.
The State Department also published formal guidance today that still routes asymptomatic high-risk Americans to Kenya and describes the process as “voluntary,” with fine print that those who decline remain “subject to relevant measures.” In accordance with the CDC assessment, the State Department may offer the following assistance:
Not high-risk of Ebola exposure: US embassy staff will reach out to the US citizen and may offer assistance, including a loan, if available, or coordination with local governments to facilitate the US citizen’s departure.
High-risk of Ebola exposure but US citizen is asymptomatic: State Department and US embassy staff may arrange transportation to a facility in Kenya for a 21-day quarantine period from the last date of Ebola exposure, to include access to appropriate medical care provided by expert US clinicians. US citizens who become symptomatic during quarantine may be transported via specialized aeromedical evacuation for appropriate treatment.
High-risk of Ebola exposure and US citizen is symptomatic or has tested positive for Ebola: State Department and US embassy staff may arrange specialized aeromedical evacuation to a designated safe location for appropriate treatment.
The World Cup starts in 8 days
The tournament opens June 11th. Congo’s World Cup team arrives in Houston on June 12th. D.C. United has already canceled a July match against Ethiopia over Ebola concerns. La Línea de la Concepción in southern Spain has refused to host Congo’s warm-up game against Chile.
But Ebola is probably the wrong thing to worry about at the World Cup. As my friend, infectious disease physician and fellow Ebola veteran Dr. Krutika Kuppalli, argued in STAT News, Ebola isn’t airborne, people aren’t contagious before symptoms, and transmission requires direct contact with bodily fluids. The real threats at a mass gathering this size are measles, flu, COVID, and norovirus. A single measles case at a stadium could expose hundreds, and the US is already seeing rising outbreaks from declining vaccination rates. The country enters this World Cup with a domestic public health system weakened by underfunding, workforce losses, and political attacks on health agencies.