NY monitoring Ebola outbreak in the Congo 'extremely closely,' health commissioner says

The new Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has the attention of Dr. James McDonald, the New York state health commissioner.

The outbreak, which has infected hundreds and caused more than 80 deaths, has been declared an international public health emergency by the World Health Organization, and lands just weeks before the FIFA World Cup brings thousands of international travelers to New York and New Jersey, cohosts of eight matches.

McDonald, who joined "Morning Edition" on Tuesday to discuss the Ebola outbreak and other public health threats being monitored by his office, said his team is monitoring the developments in the DRC “extremely closely.”

Here is a transcript of his interview with host Michael Hill. It has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Your department says there is no immediate threat to New Yorkers when it comes to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and that you're in touch with the World Health Organization. But some New Yorkers may remember that Ebola did come to our shores a little more than a decade ago, in 2014. What do you want New Yorkers to know?

Here's what we're seeing right now. So keep in mind, we have a relationship, as the New York State Department of Health, with the World Health Organization. We had briefings with them Friday. What we're doing is paying very close attention to this. What the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] is doing is what they're supposed to be doing. They're working with the World Health Organization, too. What we're seeing right now is we aren't seeing travelers from the Congo necessarily coming to the United States right now. That's the right thing to do right now. I think what we have to see is what is the federal government gonna do about the Americans [who are in the infected region]? We're monitoring the situation extremely closely.

Now, three New Yorkers are being evaluated in Nebraska because they were on the cruise ship that had the hantavirus outbreak, and last week, a suspected hantavirus infection was reported in the Finger Lakes. We understand these cases are not related, but for those who worry this hits too close to home, what should we know about these two different cases?

So these are completely unrelated. So the Finger Lake situation is this: The patient in the Finger Lakes remembered then they were cleaning out a basement. They remembered there was mouse exposure [to droppings and urine]. They then asked their doctor, and then the doctor ordered the hantavirus test. We already know that patient's doing well, but that's really the strain of hantavirus that's more common in the United States. The Andes strain of the hantavirus, that's the strain [tied to the deaths and infections] on the cruise ship. I know this is a little bit to keep straight for people here, but the Andes strain of the hantavirus, that's the one that can spread from person to person, and this is what we're following very closely in Nebraska. Keep in mind, hantavirus is not common in the United States, but it does occur, and it's more common in the spring and the summer.

More than a million people expect to come to this area for the World Cup. What concerns do you have about that kind of international travel with hantavirus and the Ebola outbreaks?

So this is something we've been getting ready for this summer for really quite some time, really over a year. So we knew a lot of people are coming, but this is the type of thing we've been preparing for. In other words, we know it's possible that anybody coming to New York could bring a disease with them. Keep in mind, though, New York state, we're better positioned than other states, right? We have hospitals like Bellevue that are regional special pathogens treatment units. They can handle this. But keep in mind, airport screening could occur if it needs to. That's the type of thing where we get prepared for.

This is why it's so important for the state health department to talk to the CDC, talk to the WHO, so we know what's going on. Right now, the priority should be trying to contain this event in the Democratic Republic of Congo, because this is really important. This is something CDC has done in the past as well, which is something which we really count on CDC to do, and this is why you want a strong CDC.

Now, how confident are you that the Trump administration is prepared for potential outbreaks here and the administration is really on top of this? We have been told in reporting all along that the administration has done such massive cuts to international health programs that that may be the reason that Ebola, for instance, is spreading as rapidly as it is.

Well, you know, I think it's important to take a step back from all this. I think as a country emerging from a pandemic, my preference would have been that our country embraced public health, and what's happened has not been the case. Having said that, the people we talk to, the career public health officers at CDC, these are the same people, you know? The career CDC people that we're talking to are good people. They know what they're doing. They're on top of these things. This is the type of thing which gives me a great deal of confidence. I think as far as some of the political stuff, you know, I understand why people are concerned, quite frankly.

I think it's important to invest in public health nationally and internationally. I think this is one of those things where we should have learned this during the pandemic. It's so important to invest in public health, because quite frankly, these types of threats are something that are gonna happen.