A Kenyan high court has halted the planned opening of a United States-run facility intended to manage Americans potentially exposed to the Ebola virus during outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, just days before it was due to begin operations.
The facility, established at Laikipia Air Base in Kenya, was designed as a quarantine and triage centre for US citizens who may have come into contact with the virus. However, the court issued its injunction following a petition from a Kenyan civil society group, which challenged the constitutionality of the arrangement. Local health organisations also criticised the project, arguing that it would serve only foreign nationals while offering no treatment to Kenyans.
Senior White House officials had previously outlined the plan in a briefing on May 28, stating that the facility would operate as a 50-bed quarantine site with additional isolation and biocontainment units. These units were intended to house patients who tested positive for Ebola or developed symptoms while awaiting transfer to advanced care facilities outside Kenya.
According to officials, patients requiring higher-level treatment would not be sent to the United States but instead to hospitals in Europe. The setup also included deployment of nearly three dozen US public health specialists to Kenya, some of whom had experience responding to the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
The facility was to be equipped with monoclonal antibody therapies, antiviral medication such as remdesivir, and supportive respiratory and hydration care for infected individuals.
Health experts, however, have raised concerns over the decision to establish a triage system in Africa while relying on European facilities for advanced treatment. Dr Ronald Nahass, president of the Infectious Disease Society of America, described the approach as “deeply concerning,” warning that it raised questions over the adequacy and timing of care for affected Americans.
Other medical professionals echoed similar concerns, arguing that temporary facilities staffed by deployed teams may not be able to match the standard of care available in established US treatment centres.
White House officials defended the strategy, stating that the arrangement was designed to ensure the fastest possible access to care while managing exposure risks closer to outbreak regions. They pointed to the 2014 Ebola crisis, during which infected US healthcare workers were transported back to America for treatment, as a precedent for coordinated international medical responses.
Kenyan authorities have not yet indicated when or if the project could proceed following the court’s decision, leaving the future of the proposed Ebola response facility uncertain as legal and public health debates continue.
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