The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is seeking volunteers from its workforce to go to domestic airports and help screen for Ebola as the deadly viral outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda intensifies.

The public health agency wants to expand its screening capabilities for international travelers and has prioritized so-called CDCReady Responders for screenings, according to an internal email sent Tuesday by Jay Bhattacharya and viewed by Bloomberg News. Bhattacharya is overseeing the agency, which doesn’t have a permanent director, while also serving as the director of the National Institutes of Health.

The CDC wants to bolster these efforts by adding staffers from any pay grade, including public health advisers, licensed medical providers and emergency management specialists, the email said.

The request comes after the US placed travel restrictions on people who’ve recently visited Congo, Uganda or neighboring South Sudan. US authorities have directed flights with American-citizen passengers who have traveled in these nations in the past three weeks to one of three domestic airports for screenings: Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta; Washington Dulles International Airport and Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

Under the CDC’s plan, screenings include brief questionnaires for passengers and temperature checks. Symptomatic people would be assessed to determine whether their illness could be Ebola. Infected passengers would be transported to a hospital for diagnosis, treatment and isolation.

The CDC volunteers will be asked to look for signs of illness, check temperatures and refer people for further assessment, the email said. Workers will be paid their regular salaries and have travel expenses covered, according to people familiar with former volunteer deployments.

Congo has become the epicenter of an increasingly growing outbreak that’s strained public health systems and sparked an international response to contain the spread. The nation has reported 101 confirmed Ebola infections, 930 suspected cases and 221 suspected deaths, according to data from the health ministry.

This outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, which has no approved treatments or vaccine. And it’s spreading faster than the response to contain it, the World Health Organization has warned.

The CDC, which underwent mass firings last year, has deployed staff to Uganda and the Congo to help with the outbreak response, testing and laboratory samples. It’s moved at least 100 workers into the emergency response from its headquarters in Atlanta, Satish Pillai, the head of the agency’s Ebola incident response, told reporters May 19. (Source: Bloomberg)

Story Date: May 27, 2026