Ebola screening is expanding to the Atlanta airport
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Saturday that it has expanded enhanced public health entry screening for Ebola to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
This is in addition to enhanced screening that started Wednesday at Washington Dulles International Airport and will begin May 26 at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston as a response to an Ebola outbreak in early May in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The CDC said the enhanced screening policy was in effect at Hartsfield-Jackson on Saturday. A spokesperson for the airport referred additional questions about the process to the CDC, which did not respond to requests for comment Sunday.
To date, there are no suspected, probable or confirmed cases of Ebola in the U.S., and “the risk of Ebola domestically is low,” according to a news release from the CDC, but enhanced public health entry screenings are one component of the CDC’s “layered approach” to public health in addition to “overseas exit screening, airline illness reporting and post-arrival public health monitoring.”
The CDC and the Department of Health and Human Services issued an order last week that allows them to suspend entry to the U.S. of non-U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents who were in the Congo, Uganda or South Sudan within 21 days before arrival.
U.S. citizens who were in those countries within 21 days are able to enter the U.S., but passengers will be rebooked through the Houston, Atlanta or Washington airport to undergo enhanced public health entry screening, according to a Department of Homeland Security notice.
Enhanced public health screening includes a questionnaire about a passenger’s travel history and symptoms and an evaluation for signs of illness by CDC staff. Passengers not displaying symptoms can continue to their final destination, but their contact information will be shared with state and local health departments.
The most recent strain of Ebola detected in the Congo is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, which does not have an approved vaccine or treatment and is a different strain from previous major outbreaks in 2014-2016 and 2018–2020. The outbreak in 2014-2016 killed more than 11,000 people and was the largest in West Africa since Ebola was discovered in 1976. The last Ebola outbreak occurred in 2025 in Uganda and the Congo.
As of Saturday, the Congo and Uganda ministries of health reported nine confirmed deaths, 176 suspected deaths and 746 suspected cases of Ebola in the Congo.
Atlanta is a 2026 FIFA World Cup host city and will include a match between the Congo and Uzbekistan on June 27.
Andrew Giuliani, the executive director of the White House Task Force for the World Cup, told ESPN on Friday that they’ve been clear with the Congo team and the Congolese government the team must isolate for 21 days in Belgium, where they’re currently training, before entering the U.S. for its match in Houston on June 17.
About the Author
Olivia Wakim is a reporter on the lifestyle team. She joined the AJC as an intern in 2023 after graduating from the University of Georgia with a journalism degree. While in school, she reported for The Red & Black, Grady Newsource and the Marietta Daily Journal.
