US domestic treatment centers ready for Ebola even as Kenya plans persist

Most of the 13 U.S. treatment centers in a government-funded hospital network for severe infectious diseases are ready to handle patients, including those with Ebola if needed, representatives from the hospitals said this week.



The current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has resulted in 344 confirmed cases of the disease and 60 deaths, according to the World Health Organization. So far, one American confirmed to have Ebola has been treated in Germany.



The U.S. State Department has said that U.S. citizens exposed to the virus but with no symptoms would be quarantined in Kenya at a facility it is building and vowed to keep the U.S. free of travelers with Ebola.



The Department of Health and Human Services told Reuters on Wednesday the U.S. network is ready if needed for outbreak response.



Public health experts have increased calls for the government to bring any sick Americans home for treatment, with protests at the Kenya site leading to at least two deaths. A Kenyan court has also ordered a block to the construction.