Why the US won’t treat Ebola patients at home
The Excerpt
USA TODAY
4.1 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 28 May 2026
⏱️ 14 minutes
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Summary
On May 16, the World Health Organization called the Ebola outbreaks in eastern Congo and Uganda a global health emergency. So far, there have been more than 900 suspected cases and over 200 suspected deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, and South Sudan. There is no vaccine. No treatment. Behind it all is a global health funding system at its lowest level since 2009, with the largest single donor, the U.S., having walked away. A recent shift in U.S. health policy now has the U.S. keeping suspected American cases abroad – sending some to quarantine facilities in Europe and others to Kenya. Why can’t they be treated back home? And what does that say about U.S. preparedness for a deadly outbreak?
Dr. Celine Gounder, an infectious disease specialist and epidemiologist, joins USA TODAY’s The Excerpt to discuss the policy shift and what it means for public health, travel restrictions, and preparedness in the United States. She is also editor-at-large for public health at KFF Health News and an opinion contributor for USA TODAY.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | On May 16th, the World Health Organization called the Ebola outbreaks in eastern Congo and |
| 0:10.1 | Uganda, a global health emergency. |
| 0:13.2 | So far, there have been over 900 suspected cases and over 200 suspected deaths in the Democratic |
| 0:18.9 | Republic of Congo, Uganda, and South Sudan. |
| 0:22.0 | There's no vaccine, no treatment. |
| 0:24.5 | Behind it all is a global health funding architecture at its lowest level since 2009, |
| 0:30.2 | with the largest single donor, the U.S. having walked away. |
| 0:33.7 | A recent shift in U.S. health policy now has the U.S. keeping suspected American cases |
| 0:39.3 | abroad, sending some to quarantine facilities in Europe, others to Kenya. Why can't they be |
| 0:45.6 | treated back home? And what does that say about U.S. preparedness for the deadly outbreak? |
| 0:55.9 | Hello and welcome to USA Today's The Excerpt. |
| 0:58.6 | I'm Dana Taylor. |
| 0:59.5 | Today is Thursday, May 28, 26. |
| 1:03.0 | Joining me to dig into the policy shift and what it means for public health, |
| 1:07.3 | travel restrictions, and preparedness here in the U.S. |
| 1:10.4 | is Dr. Celine Gounder, an infectious |
| 1:13.0 | disease specialist and epidemiologist. She's also editor at large for public health at KFF Health |
| 1:18.8 | News and an opinion contributor for USA Today. Thank you so much for joining me, Dr. Gounder. |
| 1:24.7 | Great to be here. Can you give me a clear picture of what's happening right |
| 1:28.6 | now with this Ebola outbreak? I mentioned the dire warning from the Who, just how serious is it? |
| 1:35.0 | For those of us who've been on the ground and worked as aid workers and prior Ebola outbreaks, |
| 1:41.8 | this current outbreak has all of the same features as the explosive |
... |
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