The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued an urgent internal call for volunteer screeners at major US airports as the worst Ebola outbreak in years spirals toward 1,000 cases and threatens to reach American soil.
Acting director Jay Bhattacharya sent the appeal to CDC staff on 27 May 2026, asking them to deploy voluntarily to three designated airports for Ebola screening duties. The request landed after a sustained campaign of workforce reductions under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) stripped thousands of trained public health personnel from the agency.
