The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said on Wednesday that the country’s specialized treatment network remains ready to respond to the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the World Health Organization has reported 344 confirmed cases and 60 deaths.

The issue has gained prominence after the U.S. State Department said American citizens exposed to Ebola but not showing symptoms would be quarantined at a facility under construction at Kenya’s Laikipia Air Base. The department has also pledged to prevent travelers infected with Ebola from entering the United States.

Public health specialists have increasingly urged the U.S. government to bring infected Americans back to the United States for treatment rather than relying on overseas facilities. Opposition to the Kenyan quarantine center has intensified following protests that resulted in at least two deaths, while a Kenyan court has ordered construction work halted.

The United States invested heavily in Ebola preparedness after the 2014 West African outbreak, spending hundreds of millions of dollars to strengthen treatment capacity and establish a national network of specialized facilities capable of handling highly contagious pathogens.

Reuters contacted the 13 hospitals and universities participating in the National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center network. Nine confirmed they are currently prepared to receive and treat patients exposed to Ebola.

The network includes institutions such as the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Emory University in Atlanta, Bellevue Hospital in New York and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Four institutions, including Emory, did not respond to requests for comment.

“The United States’ investment in preparedness remains a critical component of national health security,” HHS spokesperson Emily Hilliard said, adding that participating hospitals are equipped to evaluate, isolate and treat patients with high-consequence infectious diseases while supporting broader outbreak response efforts.

Under federal requirements, designated treatment centers must be capable of caring for at least two patients exposed to contagious viral hemorrhagic fevers such as Ebola. Facilities are required to conduct quarterly training exercises, maintain laboratory testing capabilities and stock protective equipment.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has dozens of personnel deployed in the DRC and has said members of the U.S. Public Health Service Corps could be sent to support operations at the proposed Kenyan facility. American healthcare workers and aid personnel also continue to serve in the region through international relief organizations.

Several healthcare officials, including former CDC leaders, argued in an open letter this week that medical evacuation to established U.S. treatment centers would pose fewer risks than housing exposed Americans at a newly constructed overseas quarantine site.

A former CDC official familiar with the response effort said concerns surrounding the Kenya plan could complicate efforts to recruit American personnel for outbreak response missions.

The official said some prospective volunteers fear they could be left overseas if exposed to the virus, potentially undermining confidence in government support for public health workers deployed to epidemic zones.

The US State Department elevated the three countries to its highest advisory level, “Level 4: Do Not Travel,” while also advising citizens to reconsider travel to neighboring Rwanda due to its proximity to affected regions.

The advisory followed new emergency measures announced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including enhanced airport screening procedures for travelers arriving from outbreak-hit areas and temporary visa-related restrictions.

US health authorities said non-American passport holders who had traveled to Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo or South Sudan within the previous 21 days would face restrictions on entry into the United States.

The CDC said the risk of Ebola spreading within the United States remained low but confirmed it was coordinating the evacuation of an American doctor infected with the virus in the DRC, along with six additional individuals undergoing medical monitoring.
German authorities said on Tuesday they were prepared to receive the infected US doctor for treatment.

The latest outbreak involves a strain of Ebola for which no approved vaccine or treatment has yet proven effective, according to health officials.

The CDC said it was expanding technical support for authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo and working with international partners to strengthen surveillance and containment operations.

The US State Department said Washington was mobilizing approximately $13 million in emergency assistance to support the response.

Questions have also emerged regarding whether recent funding cuts to the United States Agency for International Development affected outbreak preparedness and monitoring capabilities in the region. US officials declined to directly address concerns about whether reductions in USAID resources had weakened health response infrastructure.

US President Donald Trump said he was concerned about the outbreak but described the situation as currently confined to Africa.

Ebola, a highly infectious hemorrhagic fever first identified in 1976, has killed an estimated 15,000 people globally over the past five decades. Depending on the strain, fatality rates can reach as high as 90 percent.

Public health experts have long warned that fragile healthcare systems, regional instability and population displacement in parts of Central Africa complicate efforts to rapidly contain outbreaks.

A first group of passengers, all Spanish nationals and none displaying symptoms of infection, disembarked from the ship into small boats as the vessel approached the Port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Spain’s health ministry said.

Spanish officials said the passengers would be transported in sealed military buses directly to Tenerife’s airport before being flown aboard a government aircraft to Madrid for hospital evaluation and quarantine measures.

Authorities said all passengers would undergo testing by Spanish health officials before onward transport. Foreign nationals are expected to be repatriated in stages using specially arranged flights coordinated by their respective governments rather than commercial air services.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, or ECDC, classified all passengers and crew as high-risk contacts as a precautionary measure in rapid scientific guidance issued late Saturday. The agency said symptomatic passengers should receive priority medical evaluation and testing upon arrival and may either remain isolated in Tenerife or be medically evacuated home depending on their condition.

Thirty crew members are expected to remain aboard the vessel, which will later sail to the Netherlands for disinfection operations, according to Spanish authorities.The ship departed waters off Cape Verde earlier this week after the World Health Organization and the European Union requested Spain coordinate the evacuation effort following confirmation of the outbreak.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus arrived in Tenerife on Saturday alongside senior Spanish ministers to oversee preparations for the ship’s arrival and passenger transfer operations.The WHO said eight people aboard the vessel had fallen ill, including three fatalities involving a Dutch couple and a German national.

Six infections have been laboratory confirmed, while two additional cases remain under investigation.Hantavirus is primarily transmitted through exposure to infected rodents, though health officials say limited person-to-person transmission can occur in rare circumstances.

The WHO has assessed the risk to the wider global population as low while describing the threat to passengers and crew aboard the vessel as moderate.Spanish authorities said evacuation operations were expected to continue throughout the day under strict biosecurity protocols at Tenerife’s Port of Granadilla.