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Osterholm Update

Episode 210: Ebola: What the Past Tells Us about the Present

Osterholm Update

CIDRAP

Science

4.8 • 3K Ratings

🗓️ 4 June 2026

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

<p dir="ltr">This week on the Osterholm Update, Dr. Michael Osterholm and Chris Dall focus on the developing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, discussing the U.S. response, whether transmission can be airborne, and addressing travel concerns to Africa. We’ll also bring you the latest on the hantavirus outbreak, review a long-awaited report from the FDA on pediatric deaths linked to COVID vaccines, and provide updates on measles and other respiratory viruses. Plus, a Public Health History segment highlighting the first EMS service in the U.S.<br>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Links:</strong><br><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/may/28/medical-staff-ebola-frontline-congolese-doctors-nurses-disease">‘Among the things he feared most was death’: the doctors and nurses dying on the Ebola frontline</a> (The Guardian)&nbsp;<br><br><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/30/world/africa/ebola-epicenter-congo.html?unlocked_article_code=1.mVA.QYy-.GlYUZQTzvRw7&amp;smid=url-share">Inside the Ebola Epicenter, the Virus Rages With Little to Stop It</a> (The New York Times)</p> <p dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/05/21/congo-ebola-outbreak-is-test-world-doesnt-have-fail/">Opinion: This Ebola outbreak is a test the world doesn't have to fail</a> (The Washington Post)<br><br><a href="https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/ebola/people-ebola-pose-little-risk-public-us-experts-say">People with Ebola pose little risk to public in US, experts say</a> (CIDRAP)</p> <p dir="ltr"><a href="https://journals.asm.org/doi/epub/10.1128/mbio.00137-15">Transmission of Ebola Viruses: What We Know and What We Do Not Know</a> (ASM Journals)</p> <p><a href="https://evidence.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/EVIDpha2600170">Public Health Alerts: Andes Hantavirus Outbreak on a Cruise Ship, 2026&nbsp;</a>(NEJM and CIDRAP)<br>&nbsp;</p> <p>Resources for vaccine and public health advocacy:</p> <p><a href="https://www.voicesforvaccines.org/get-involved/"><strong>Voices for Vaccines</strong></a></p> <p><a href="https://familiesfightingflu.org/take-action/"><strong>Families Fighting Flu</strong></a></p> <p><a href="https://vaccinateyourfamily.org/get-involved/"><strong>Vaccinate Your Family</strong></a></p> <p><a href="https://shotatlife.org/take-action/"><strong>Shot@Life</strong></a></p> <p><a href="https://aspr.hhs.gov/MRC/Pages/index.aspx"><strong>Medical Reserve Corps</strong></a></p> <p>Learn more about the <a href="https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/vaccine-integrity-project"><strong>Vaccine Integrity Project</strong></a></p> <p><a href="https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/osterholm-update-covid-19"><strong>MORE EPISODES</strong></a>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/support-cidrap"><strong>SUPPORT THIS PODCAST</strong></a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Music:</strong></p> <p>"Beauty Flow" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)<br>Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License</p>

Transcript

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0:00.0

Hello and welcome to the Oström Update, a podcast about infectious diseases and public health,

0:13.8

featuring Dr. Michael Osterholm.

0:17.0

Dr. Ostrome is an internationally recognized medical detective and director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, or Sidrap, at the University of Minnesota.

0:26.7

In this podcast, Dr. Ostrome draws an over 50 years of experience in infectious disease epidemiology to provide straight talk on the latest infectious disease outbreaks,

0:40.6

counter misinformation and disinformation about vaccines,

0:46.0

and distill the complex and ever-evolving public health threats facing our world.

0:49.5

I'm Chris Dahl, reporter for Sidrapp News,

1:00.3

and I'm your host for these conversations. Welcome back, everyone, to another episode of the Oström Update podcast.

1:04.5

During the large Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014, the U.S. government helped build,

1:10.1

coordinate, and lead the worldwide response,

1:13.0

deploying thousands of experts to help stop transmission to the deadly virus and keep it from

1:17.6

spreading farther. Here's what President Barack Obama said in October 2014. We can beat this disease,

1:24.6

but we have to stay vigilant. We have to work together at every level, federal, state, and local. And we have to keep leading the global response, because the best way to stop this disease, the best way to keep Americans safe, is to stop it at its source in West Africa.

1:39.5

Jump forward 12 years to the current Ebola outbreak centered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,

1:44.8

and you'll see a more muted U.S. response. The Trump administration does have people on the

1:49.7

ground in the affected countries and is helping fund international outbreak response efforts,

1:55.0

but it does not appear to be playing a leading role in those efforts. The U.S. government at

1:59.8

the moment appears to be less focused on stopping the outbreak

2:02.1

at the source and more focused on keeping anyone from the infected areas out of the country

2:06.9

and treating Ebola-exposed Americans in other countries.

2:10.7

The U.S. response to the Ebola outbreak will be among the topics we explore on this June

2:15.2

4th episode of the Orom Update, episode number 210.

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