{"id":832367,"date":"2026-05-30T12:57:34","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T12:57:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/832367\/"},"modified":"2026-05-30T12:57:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T12:57:34","slug":"boston-ebola-experts-decry-policy-of-sending-americans-to-kenya","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/832367\/","title":{"rendered":"Boston Ebola experts decry policy of sending Americans to Kenya"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 50-bed unit was set to open Friday, but a Kenyan court late Thursday temporarily suspended<\/a> the plan after a lawsuit argued the \u200csite could endanger public health. The next hearing is scheduled for Tuesday. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe facility is designed to provide access to high-quality care for Americans who would need to quickly get out of DRC and quarantine without the risks of a lengthy transport back to the US,\u201d a Trump administration official said in a statement. \u201cTreatment capabilities at the facility are expected to be able to care for the full-spectrum of Ebola Virus Disease, including critical care needs, though each case will be evaluated for forward transport for more advanced care as appropriate in order to maximize patient outcomes.\u201d<\/p>\n

But experts warn a facility capable of offering the same intensity and quality of care as US hospitals would take millions of dollars and months to establish. Medical professionals and nonprofits are also concerned the policy would deter humanitarian aid workers from volunteering in affected areas because of uncertainty about the level of care they\u2019ll receive. <\/p>\n

\u201cMortality rates for Americans who were promptly evacuated from West Africa was zero,\u201d said Frankfurter, who is considering volunteering in this outbreak. \u201cPeople are going to get sick by caring for patients, and with this, you don\u2019t really know. It will definitely influence my decision [to volunteer].\u201d<\/p>\n

The policy is a reversal from how past presidential administrations, including President Obama\u2019s administration<\/a> in 2014, have responded to outbreaks. Previously, Americans who contracted the virus while working in Africa were evacuated to the United States<\/a>, and those coming back from working in affected areas were able to quarantine at home. <\/p>\n

This month, the Trump administration evacuated an American doctor and six other Americans<\/a> to Germany and the Czech Republic. The administration has also barred from entry<\/a> to the United States immigrants and legal permanent residents who had recently been in the DRC, Uganda, or South Sudan. <\/p>\n

During a White House Cabinet meeting<\/a> this week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the administration \u201ccannot and will not allow any cases of Ebola to enter the United States\u201d in an effort to protect Americans. <\/p>\n

Since officials in the DRC announced the outbreak May 15<\/a>, suspected cases have grown to more than 1,000,<\/a> and suspected deaths surpassed 240. Cases are concentrated in the DRC and have also been reported in neighboring Uganda. <\/p>\n

\"WorkersWorkers from the Uganda Red Cross Society evacuate the body of a suspected Ebola victim in Kampala, Uganda on May 26.BADRU KATUMBA\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

The current outbreak is caused by a rare virus strain called Bundibugyo, which differs from the Zaire strain that was spreading<\/a> during the 2014 and 2018 outbreaks<\/a>. There\u2019s no vaccine or known treatment for this strain of the virus, said Dr. Adam Levine, a professor of emergency medicine and international and public affairs at Brown University. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn many ways, it sets us back to really where I was in August of 2014 when I responded to the Zaire Ebola outbreak in Liberia, before we had an effective treatment or vaccine for it,\u201d said Levine, who was part of the team that developed a vaccine and the first treatment for the Zaire strain. <\/p>\n

Levine, who was deployed to Liberia to help research and treat the virus by the nonprofit International Medical Corps in 2014, said the US government set up a high-functioning Ebola treatment center in Liberia during the 2014 outbreak. The center, known as the Monrovia Medical Unit<\/a>, treated international health care workers, including Americans, and local health officials. <\/p>\n

\u201cLocation is not necessarily the most important question … you can build a US-level ICU in Kenya or Liberia if you want to,\u201d Levine said. \u201cBut that [Monrovia Medical Unit] took months to construct … it\u2019s not something you can set up in a few days or weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to the millions of dollars and months of planning required to establish a similar unit, training health care workers to safely treat Ebola patients takes time, said Dr. Nahid Bhadelia, the director of Boston University\u2019s Center on Emerging Infectious Diseases. <\/p>\n

The Trump administration is training for three days members of the US Public Health Service to staff the facility, according to The New York Times<\/a>. The same agency staffed the MMU in 2014. <\/p>\n

Bhadelia, who treated Ebola patients in Sierra Leone during the West African outbreak, was an instructor for a CDC course that taught US health care workers how to care for Ebola patients. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt requires a lot in addition to training \u2014 it requires a lot of experience,\u201d Bhadelia said. \u201cYou need to repeat it over and over again.\u201d <\/p>\n

That\u2019s one of the biggest drawbacks to building a new facility instead of using the United States\u2019 13 existing centers<\/a> equipped and trained to treat patients with <\/b>Ebola and other infectious diseases, Bhadelia said. The government has spent millions of dollars building and maintaining these biocontainment facilities, which were federally designated<\/a> as Regional Emerging Special Pathogen Treatment Centers after the 2014 outbreak, Levine said.<\/p>\n

Massachusetts General Hospital is the designated RESPTC serving New England<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe benefit is that the staff there has been trained for a very, very long time,\u201d Bhadelia said. \u201cThe standard of care would be higher … [the health care workers here] have gone through so much training versus somebody who might be learning this now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bhadelia said there has never been a secondary transmission from an Ebola patient treated in a Regional Emerging Special Pathogen Treatment Center. But if the Kenyan facility is not carefully managed, a lack of personal protective equipment and safety protocols could lead to infections. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not a rational response,\u201d Frankfurter said. \u201cThere\u2019s no evidence that you\u2019re reducing any sort of risk by [sending Americans to Kenya].\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. John Welch, senior director of clinical systems at the Boston-based <\/b>Partners in Health, said the lack of guarantee that clinicians would be brought to the United States for treatment could be a \u201chuge deterrent\u201d for aid workers. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s quite a prospect to say, \u2018I will go to Africa and take care of Ebola patients,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cWhat those clinicians need to know is that if they become sick themselves, they\u2019ve got access to high quality care.\u201d<\/p>\n

While most care for Ebola patients will be provided by local health officials in Africa, more international volunteers could mean getting the virus under control quicker, Bhadelia said. Global health officials have noted the outbreak of the virus is outpacing the response<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re hearing from everybody that we are behind in this response,\u201d Bhadelia said. \u201cIt will need a lot more people from all over the world to help to support our DRC colleagues, who are excellent at doing this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emily Spatz can be reached at emily.spatz@globe.com<\/a>. Follow her on X @emilymspatz<\/a>.<\/p>\n