How the Ebola outbreak affects Dulles: Travelers who left 3 African nations to land in Virginia

The World Health Organization reports there are now more than 600 suspected Ebola cases amid the ongoing outbreak, and 139 people have died from the virus, mostly in the DRC.

Americans coming to the U.S. from some African countries will be routed through Dulles International Airport for enhanced screening amid an Ebola outbreak that has killed nearly 140 people, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The DHS said that as of Thursday all U.S.-bound American citizens and permanent residents who have been in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda or South Sudan in the previous 21 days must only enter through Dulles.

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In a memo obtained by NBC News, the DHS described Dulles as the airport “where the U.S. government is focusing public health resources to implement enhanced public health measures."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there are no confirmed cases of Ebola in the U.S.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports there are now more than 600 suspected Ebola cases amid the ongoing outbreak, and 139 people have died from the virus, mostly in the DRC.

The CDC, in an order signed by National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya, said screening is important to prevent the virus causing this Ebola outbreak, Bundibugyo, from entering the United States.

"The interconnected nature of global air travel therefore presents a credible pathway for Bundibugyo virus disease importation into the United States, underscoring the importance of aggressive surveillance, traveler monitoring, airport screening, healthcare preparedness, and rapid containment capabilities," the document said.

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The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) will also monitor Virginia travelers from outbreak-affected areas after they have gone through federal airport screening protocols, according to Maria Reppas, communications director for VDH. Travelers will be monitored by VDH for 21 days after their last potential exposure risk.

Concerning strain of virus at center of outbreak that started weeks ago

Health officials believe the Ebola outbreak in Congo started weeks ago and say they haven’t identified the source.

The outbreak has been declared a public health emergency of international concern by the WHO.

The virus causing this outbreak in Congo is less common than others that cause Ebola disease, which is complicating the response because there are no specific treatments or vaccines.

“There’s nothing even close to ready for clinical trials,” said Dr. Celine Gounder, an infectious disease specialist and epidemiologist who treated patients in West Africa during the 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic. “And so that means responders, healthcare workers and other aid workers are really back to the basics.”

Dr. Vasee Moorthy, a special adviser in the office of the WHO chief scientist, said the most promising candidate vaccine to address Bundibugyo would not be available for at least six to nine months.

The virus is spread through close contact with sick or deceased patients’ bodily fluids, such as sweat, blood, feces or vomit. Healthcare workers and family members caring for sick patients face the highest risk, experts said.

“So very often we see doctors and nurses among the first to be infected and to die,” said Gounder, editor-at-large for public health at KFF Health News.

From the few outbreaks health experts have seen, Bundibugyo might be slightly less deadly than Ebola virus or Sudan virus.

“I think a 30%-plus mortality rate is still quite scary, but it’s hard to say with a lot of precision because we don’t have a lot of experience,” Gounder said.

How public health workers are trying to contain the outbreak

Health workers are now working to find and isolate cases, trace their contacts and educate people about how to avoid the virus. In the West African Ebola epidemic, ensuring safe methods of burial was key to stopping the spread, said Gounder, because people were getting sick from preparing their loved ones’ bodies for funeral rites. Making sure health workers have proper protective equipment is also critical, experts said.

“Of course, it’s problematic because vaccines are some of our best tools for combating infectious diseases,” said Lina Moses, an epidemiologist and disease ecologist at Tulane University. But other public health tools — public education, contact tracing, quick testing — still work, she said.

“It’s important to keep in mind that every single Ebola outbreak that has occurred in the (Democratic Republic of the Congo) — we’re on our 17th now — has been stopped,” she said.