CDC adds Ebola screening at Atlanta airport amid ongoing epidemic

Atlanta’s international airport now has added Ebola screening for people returning from central African countries affected by a deadly epidemic, health officials said.

On May 23, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport has enhanced public health screening for passengers traveling from Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and South Sudan.

Central Africa has seen an Ebola outbreak spread rapidly caused by a rare species of Ebola virus called Bundibugyo, which has no approved vaccines or therapeutics. The World Health Organization on May 17 declared a public health emergency of international concern for the epidemic, which originated in Congo.

Added screening at Hartsfield-Jackson − the world’s busiest airport by passengers − expands on screenings currently underway at Washington-Dulles International Airport, which took effect May 20, according to a Department of Homeland Security Federal Register notice.

A May 23 CDC statement said Harstfield-Jackson previously conducted enhanced public health entry screenings and had established procedures in place.

“Enhanced public health entry screening is one component of CDC’s layered public health approach,” the agency said, along with overseas exit screening, airline illness reporting, and post-arrival public health monitoring.

On May 18, CDC officials issued an order suspending entry of foreign nationals who were in Congo, Uganda or South Sudan within 21 days before arriving to the United States. American citizens who had been in the three countries could re-enter the United States. A May 22 Department of Health and Human Services interim final rule invoked Title 42, a public health statute, to prevent lawful permanent residents from entering the United States if they had been in the African countries within 21 days.

On May 23, Congolese officials said there were 91 confirmed cases and 10 confirmed deaths, with nearly 870 suspected cases and 204 suspected deaths. In Uganda, officials confirmed five cases, including one death.

One American who had been working in Congo has been confirmed positive and was transferred to Germany for care, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, said in a May 22 update. He added another American who had high-risk contact had been sent to the Czech Republic.

CDC's Health Alert Network issued a May 19 advisory for American health departments, clinicians and travelers about the Ebola outbreak.

The risk of Ebola's spread to the United States is low at this time, CDC said. There have been no cases confirmed cases in the country.

Eduardo Cuevas is based in New York City. Reach him by email at [email protected] or on Signal at emcuevas.01.