US to tighten Ebola screening with new air passenger declarations

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, Oct 22 (Reuters) - The US government will increase measures aimed at preventing entry by people exposed to Ebola with a new requirement for US-bound air travelers to attest they have not been in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the prior 21 days, according to a memo on Thursday seen by Reuters.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in May adopted rules barring ‌airline passengers who have been in the DRC, the center of the 2026 outbreak, in the prior three weeks. The restrictions were extended to US citizens in July.

The new CDC order takes effect November 3 and requires all US-bound airline passengers to file digital or paper attestations.

Airlines for America, which represents United Airlines UAL.O, American Airlines AAL.O, Southwest Airlines LUV.N and Delta Air Lines DAL.N, did not immediately comment.

The CDC is holding briefing calls with major US and foreign airlines on Friday to detail how carriers should comply with the new requirements.

As part of the Ebola measures, the CDC since earlier this year has also barred foreign nationals from the US if they have been in Uganda or South Sudan in the prior three weeks.

The Bundibugyo strain of the virus spread undetected for months before ​the outbreak was declared in May. It kills about half of those infected and has no approved treatment or vaccine.

So far the outbreak is confirmed to have killed about 4,700 people in Africa, according to the Africa CDC.

To date, no Ebola cases associated with this outbreak have been reported in the United States, the CDC said.