Global health organizations are racing to stem an Ebola outbreak in central Africa that has already led to more than 100 suspected deaths, with the exact numbers of infections still unknown. “This is an outbreak that is still rapidly evolving,” said Dr. Michael Lin, an infectious disease specialist at Rush University. “The numbers are still very difficult to nail down.”
Local health ministries in the Democratic Republic of the Congo identified the outbreak on May 15, and it was only two days later that the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a “public health emergency of international concern.” Uncertainty still surrounds the outbreak, including how best to treat this specific strain of the virus. And while the immediate threat is still far away from Chicago, local specialists are working to ensure the city is prepared for all possibilities. Many past Ebola outbreaks have taken root in rural areas, where risk of intercontinental spread remained low. That changed in 2014, when an outbreak hit west Africa, including some population centers that are well-connected to the rest of the world through busy airports.
How Chicago responded: Then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel convened public health leaders, doctors, first responders and more, and the Chicago Ebola Response Network was born. And while Chicago has never confirmed any cases of Ebola, building that public health infrastructure has still paid dividends. “Since that time, (the response network) evolved beyond Ebola and helped us address outbreaks related to mpox, COVID-19, measles and other serious pathogens,” said Dr. Larry Kociolek, an infectious disease specialist and vice president of system preparedness, prevention and response at Lurie Children’s Hospital. In 2025, the Illinois Department of Public Health officially named Rush University and Lurie Children’s Hospital as Elite Special Pathogen Treatment Centers that could take in patients with suspected Ebola cases.
Typically, O’Hare Airport would set up enhanced health screenings for travelers passing through affected countries — in this case, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and South Sudan. However, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced Wednesday that all flights from those three countries would be routed through Washington-Dulles International Airport, where screening resources are being focused.
But in the event a suspected case still makes its way to Chicago, there’s a plan in place, flowing from local and state departments of health down to the hospitals.
