U.S. bans entry from Ebola-affected countries as American patient is identified

In response to a fast-moving Ebola outbreak, the Trump administration has imposed a U.S. entry ban on foreign travelers who have been in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan in the past 21 days, according to a new order issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

The order comes as an international Christian aid group confirmed one of its members, an American doctor working in the outbreak zone, is among those who have a confirmed Ebola infection. The organization, Serge, said that Peter Stafford, a physician who had been working at a hospital in Bunia since 2023, in northeastern DRC, tested positive for the Bundibugyo ebolavirus variant. Two other doctors working for the charity, including Stafford’s wife, also had exposure to infected patients.

Stafford is being relocated to Germany for treatment. His family, including his four children, are also being transferred there for observation, along with the other doctor working for the charity at Nyankunde Hospital, all of whom are asymptomatic. 

The relocations are meant “to ensure that they received optimal care or observation,†Satish Pillai, who is managing the CDC’s Ebola response, told reporters Monday. He added that there are efforts to ensure treatments, including experimental, become available to contain the spread of the virus. 

“We’re working across the entire agency to ensure that appropriate therapeutics are available, including post-exposure prophylaxis,†he said. The CDC said the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority is also “looking into†the two monoclonal antibodies that have been investigated in nonhuman primates to prevent or treat the Bundibugyo variant.

The travel order, aimed at preventing the introduction of Ebola cases into the United States, applies to anyone who was in those countries in recent weeks, irrespective of their nationality of origin, with the exception of American citizens and members of the Army, as well as anyone specifically exempted from the ban by the Department of Homeland Security.

The order, signed by Jay Bhattacharya, the director of the National Institutes of Health who is also serving as a top CDC official, is in effect for 30 days. 

This is the first time the U.S. has imposed a travel ban in response to an Ebola outbreak. 

In the past, officials have relied on a containment strategy that has included enhanced screening of travelers at ports of entry, as was the case during the 2018-2019 Ebola outbreak during President Trump’s first term. At the time, the CDC coordinated a combination of exit screenings of personnel leaving affected areas and further checks at airports. 

During the West Africa outbreak of 2014-2015, before he was elected, Trump called for a travel ban that would apply to Americans in the affected regions, too, an approach that was later criticized by Tom Price, who Trump selected to be his health secretary and who said letting international health care workers back in the U.S. is “not only our responsibility … it’s a moral action that must be taken.â€

But Krutika Kuppalli, an infectious diseases specialist who has worked in Ebola outbreaks and formerly worked for the World Health Organization, said travel bans don’t stop spread of viruses and can actually impede efforts to contain them.

“We have repeatedly seen during H1N1, Covid-19, mpox, and the 2014 Ebola outbreak that broad travel bans do little to stop the spread of disease once an outbreak is already underway,†she told STAT.

“In many cases, these policies can actually make outbreaks harder to control by disrupting movement of health care workers and supplies, fueling stigma, and incentivizing people to avoid authorities or travel through unofficial routes to circumvent restrictions. Viruses exploit weak public health systems — not commercial airline schedules.â€

Cases of Ebola have been reported in the DRC and Uganda, though the order identifies South Sudan as being at risk of spread given its proximity to the affected countries.

Though halting travel from the affected region would reduce the number of high-risk travelers entering the United States, it would not eliminate the risks posed by the presence of these travelers in large transit hubs, the order reads. The virus incubation period is up to 21 days, and potential patients could expose fellow travelers in other global hubs.

The order is effective immediately, but it’s been issued with a 30-day comment period to inform future actions.