Harris County launches Ebola dashboard with real-time travel monitoring updates

Harris County Public Health and the Houston Health Department have put a new Ebola dashboard in front of the public as Houston enters a summer of tighter health monitoring and World Cup preparations.

The Houston-Harris County Joint Ebola Dashboard, posted on the Harris County Public Health website, showed 17 travelers under monitoring as of June 3, with 0 completed monitoring, 0 current confirmed cases and 0 cumulative confirmed cases. The count covered both Harris County and the City of Houston, giving residents a single place to track the local response as officials watched travel tied to the 2026 Ebola outbreak in Central Africa.

Health officials said the risk to the general public remained low and that no Ebola cases had been confirmed in the Houston area or in the United States during the current outbreak. Travelers from affected countries were being screened and monitored, including daily follow-up and temperature checks, and the county said those travelers were monitored for 21 days after their last day in the affected region.

The dashboard was updated weekly on Wednesdays at 4 p.m. and was designed to give the public timely, shared access to the same figures health leaders were using. Officials said cases would be confirmed through CDC laboratory testing. The U.S. government also put enhanced screening and entry restrictions in place for travelers from Ebola-affected countries.

Dr. Theresa Tran, director of the Houston Health Department, said the dashboard reflected collaboration and transparency. Dr. Erica Brown of Harris County Public Health said the risk continued to remain low. County officials also said they were working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the state and Houston partners, including the Harris County Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management.

The outbreak was confirmed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda in May 2026, and the World Health Organization has said the Bundibugyo strain involved has no approved vaccine or specific treatment. Local officials have linked the dashboard and airport screening to Houston’s role as a 2026 FIFA World Cup host city, with seven matches scheduled to begin June 14 at venues including NRG Stadium. The public message from Harris County was simple: there were no confirmed local cases, but the monitoring network was active and expanding.