By Michael Erman
June 5 (Reuters) - Most of the 13 U.S. treatment centers in a government-funded hospital network for severe infectious diseases are ready to handle patients, including those with Ebola if needed, representatives from the hospitals said this week.
The current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has resulted in 344 confirmed cases of the disease and 60 deaths, according to the World Health Organization. So far, one American confirmed to have Ebola has been treated in Germany.
The U.S. State Department has said that U.S. citizens exposed to the virus but with no symptoms would be quarantined in Kenya at a facility it's building and vowed to keep the U.S. free of travelers with Ebola.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services told Reuters on Wednesday the U.S. network is ready if needed for outbreak response.
Public health experts have increased calls for the government to bring any sick Americans home for treatment, with protests at the Kenya site leading to at least two deaths. A Kenyan court has also ordered a block to the construction.
The U.S. has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on preparing its health system to be able to handle Ebola patients since the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, including funding the network of 13 treatment centers.
AT LEAST 9 OF 13 CENTERS READY TO GO
Reuters reached out to the 13 hospitals and universities around the country that are part of the program called the National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center, nine of which confirmed they are able to receive patients who have been exposed to Ebola.
The network includes well-known sites such as the University of Nebraska and Emory University in Atlanta, which recently housed Americans exposed to hantavirus on a cruise, as well as others like Bellevue Hospital in New York and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
Emory and three other hospitals did not respond to requests for comment.
"The United States’ investment in preparedness... remains a critical component of national health security," Emily Hilliard, a spokesperson for HHS, said.
Hospitals "stand ready to safely evaluate, isolate, and treat patients with high-consequence infectious diseases while supporting ongoing response efforts," she said.
INVESTMENT AFTER 2014 OUTBREAK
In the 2014 West Africa outbreak, the U.S. brought several Ebola patients back to be treated domestically. The following year, HHS received around $260 million in funding for Ebola preparedness and response activities in support of the regional treatment network.
Recently, HHS has provided $21 million a year in funding to the group, which has continued in 2026.
The facilities are required to be able to take care of at least two patients with exposure to a contagious viral hemorrhagic fever like Ebola. The facilities are required to train their personnel quarterly, and have lab testing capabilities and personal protective equipment on hand.
The U.S. CDC has dozens of employees in the DRC and has said it plans to send members of the Public Health Service Corps to staff the Kenya site. Americans also volunteer there for international relief organizations.
Healthcare officials in the U.S., including former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials, argued in an open letter earlier this week that building the new facility in Kenya would raise serious health risks compared with medical repatriation to fully staffed and prepared U.S. facilities.
One former CDC official who is familiar with the response effort said the Kenya quarantine plan could hinder recruiting Americans to help with the outbreak.
"People are concerned they will be abandoned by their government, and many see it as a slap in the face to have taken an oath to serve the American public and get repaid that way," the former official said.
(Reporting by Michael Erman in New Jersey; Additional reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein in Washington; Editing by Caroline Humer and Bill Berkrot)
