Staff members at CBCA Virunga Hospital prepare rooms intended for possible suspected Ebola cases following official announcements in Goma, on May 17, 2026. A first case of Ebola virus infection was reported in Goma, a major city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The WHO declaring an international health alert on Sunday. (Photo by Jospin Mwisha / AFP via Getty Images)
AFP via Getty Images
As of May 18, 2026, an American physician, diagnosed with the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, was en route to Germany. Dr. Peter Stafford, who has been working as a medical missionary at Nyankunde Hospital in Bunia, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since 2023, experienced symptoms the previous weekend and tested positive.
Six individuals who have been in close contact with Stafford, including fellow missionaries and his wife, have been moved to Germany for observation. On May 17, 2026, the World Health Organization (WHO) classified the outbreak as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. So far, there are 531 suspected and confirmed cases, with at least 131 fatalities.
The U.S. public health system responded swiftly. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) invoked Title 42 to limit entry for non-U.S. passport holders who have recently been in DRC, Uganda, or South Sudan within the last 21 days. The State Department advised against traveling to DRC, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began screening at entry points.
With an American infected and others being monitored, it raises a pertinent question: if someone exposed to the outbreak visits a U.S. emergency department this week, what would happen?
The Healthcare System Built To Detect And Contain Outbreaks
In 2014, when Thomas Eric Duncan was diagnosed with Ebola at Texas Health Presbyterian in Dallas, it marked the first U.S. case of the outbreak, and there was no national framework for managing Ebola in American hospitals.
This prompted the federal government to create one from scratch. Today, the infrastructure reflects twelve years of development.
There are now 13 federally funded Regional Emerging Special Pathogen Treatment Centers (RESPTCs), located at institutions such as Johns Hopkins, Denver Health, NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue, and Corewell Health in Michigan. These centers have dedicated biocontainment units with negative-pressure rooms, level-A personal protective equipment (PPE) stockpiles, and trained teams, complete with protocols for patient admission to waste disposal and healthcare worker monitoring.
The National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center (NETEC) certifies frontline hospitals, conducts national transport drills, and serves as the operational backbone of the response. A 2025 federal initiative, STAND, extended funding to a second tier of centers, expanding their geographic reach.
This system is currently being activated.
Here’s How Hospitals Screen For Ebola
Screening starts at the entrance. CDC guidelines require all healthcare facilities to implement a ‘detect and protect’ protocol at initial contact, whether it be triage or registration. Patients presenting with fever, headache, muscle pain, or gastrointestinal symptoms are asked two questions: Have you traveled to an affected region in the last 21 days? Have you had contact with anyone suspected of being infected? Currently, this includes DRC, Uganda, and South Sudan.
If the response is affirmative, the protocol is activated. The patient is moved to a private room to minimize exposure to other patients and staff. The clinical team dons full droplet and contact precautions, including a gown, gloves, eye protection, and an N95 respirator at a minimum.
Only essential personnel are allowed entry. The hospital’s infection control officer is notified, and the local or state health department is contacted before any specimen collection or testing occurs.
Testing for suspected Ebola requires a controlled chain of custody. Standard hospital laboratories are not equipped for this. Specimens are packaged under strict biosafety protocols and sent to a state public health laboratory or directly to the CDC’s Atlanta facility, which is specifically equipped to detect the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola.
This was the issue that led to the accumulation of cases in DRC before the outbreak was confirmed. In the U.S., the notification chain to the CDC ensures the correct tests are ordered.
Here’s The Detailed Process of Ebola Screening
Consider this scenario: an American aid worker returns from three weeks in Ituri province in DRC, passes through customs at Dulles Airport in Northern Virginia feeling well, but later develops a fever and headache on day five. Following CDC guidance, he calls ahead before visiting an ED (Note: This call ahead is very important).
The hospital activates its travel-related illness protocol before his arrival. A staff member in PPE meets him in the ambulance bay, bypassing the waiting area. A small dedicated team then conducts the initial evaluation. The infection control officer is paged, and the state health department is contacted. A rapid epidemiological assessment determines the exposure history, and specimens are packaged and sent to the state lab, with the CDC involved at each step.
While awaiting results, which typically take four to eight hours, he remains in isolation. Every clinician entering his room is recorded by name, time, and PPE status.
If the test is positive for Ebola, he would be transferred to the nearest RESPTC under a specialized transport protocol. In the mid-Atlantic region, this would likely be the NIH Clinical Center or the University of Maryland’s biocontainment unit.
His contacts, including family members, fellow travelers, and the triage staff who first saw him, enter a 21-day public health monitoring program with daily symptom check-ins.
Here’s What To Know About the Bundibugyo Strain of Ebola
Bundibugyo is the rarest of the four ebolaviruses. This outbreak marks only the third detected in recorded history. There are no approved vaccines or treatments for it. For the Zaire strain, the rVSV-ZEBOV vaccine (Ervebo) was an important tool for outbreak control.
For Bundibugyo, treatment is entirely supportive, involving fluid resuscitation, electrolyte management, and organ support. The case fatality rate historically ranges from 30% to 50%, lower than the Zaire strain’s 60% to 90%. The CDC is working to accelerate the development of monoclonal antibody therapy.
For Americans who have recently been in DRC, Uganda, or South Sudan, the CDC’s guidance is specific: monitor for symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle pain, weakness, vomiting, diarrhea, and unexplained bleeding for 21 days from the last potential exposure. If symptoms develop, call the ED before visiting, or contact the state or local health department, or call 911 and inform the dispatcher about your travel history.
Dr. Stafford’s case exemplifies emergency response in action. An American physician recognized his exposure risk and symptoms and is now receiving coordinated care. His contacts are under observation, and contact tracing is underway.
The infrastructure developed after 2014 — the RESPTC network, NETEC, the Health Alert Network, and the CDC’s laboratory capacity for rare filovirus subtypes like the Bundibugyo Ebola strain — exists precisely for this moment. As the outbreak progresses, this system will be rigorously tested.
