Public health experts are warning that current Ebola and hantavirus outbreaks could pose significant risks to global and domestic health security.
These warnings come as the U.S. continues to grapple with the psychological aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Lingering anxiety from that era is amplifying public concern over new infectious threats, making the communication of risk more volatile.
Former CDC Director Robert Redfield warned in late April that the current Ebola outbreak in Central-West Africa could spread to three new countries [1]. During an interview on The Hill's platform, Redfield said, "I suspect this is going to become a very significant pandemic, probably."
Efforts to contain the virus in Africa are currently facing severe obstacles. Officials said that violence and insecurity in the region are hampering the response and making it difficult to track the spread of the disease [2].
Domestically, cases of hantavirus have been reported primarily in the rural Midwest. While some experts express concern, others suggest the risk to the general public is lower than that of a respiratory pandemic. One hantavirus survivor said that people should not be as worried about the "rat virus" as they would have been with COVID [3].
There is a growing debate among specialists regarding the preparedness of the U.S. to handle these threats. An Emory epidemiologist said the U.S. has degraded its ability to track and squash outbreaks [4]. However, other reports indicate the U.S. remains ready to respond to the specific threat posed by Ebola [5].
Dr. Josh Michaud, Associate Director for Global Health and Public Health Policy at KFF, has joined other experts in assessing these risks as the international community monitors the situation in Africa and the rural U.S. [1].
“"I suspect this is going to become a very significant pandemic, probably."”
The divergent views on the Ebola and hantavirus threats highlight a tension between localized containment and global pandemic potential. While hantavirus remains a sporadic rural threat, the potential for Ebola to cross borders into three new countries suggests that geopolitical instability in Africa can directly increase global health risks. The debate over U.S. preparedness indicates that the infrastructure used during the COVID-19 pandemic may not be sufficient for tracking different types of contagious pathogens.
