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Douglas County health leaders describe hantavirus response, Ebola traveler monitoring and data dashboards
Summary
Public-health officials told the Douglas County Board of Health they activated an incident-management team for an Andes hantavirus response (13 cases, three deaths), are monitoring Ebola-returning travelers (11 identified; nine active as of June 16), and are expanding preparedness tools including a warming/cooling-centers dashboard and public infectious‑disease data dashboards.
Anna Hansen, supervisor of emergency preparedness at the Douglas County health department, and Chad Wetzel, supervisor of infectious-disease epidemiology, briefed the Board of Health on recent responses and surveillance work.
Hansen said the department activated an Incident Management Team for an Andes hantavirus matter; the team listed 11 staff members and coordinated monitoring and communications support, including drafting FAQs for an information line and preparing media materials. "We activated our incident management team and in total we had 11 staff members on that team," Hansen said.
Wetzel described epidemiology updates and national surveillance concerns. He said the hantavirus incident involved 13 cases with three deaths and that 18 people associated with the event were housed at the Nebraska Quarantine Unit for monitoring. On international infectious threats, Wetzel said the department is monitoring travelers returning from countries with Ebola outbreaks and had 11 returning travelers to Douglas County as of June 16, nine of whom remained active in monitoring. "We are keeping an eye on those returning travelers and are coordinating monitoring using text-based and RedCap tools," he said.
Wetzel also reviewed seasonal respiratory trends and other surveillance: influenza peaked in January–February, RSV and pertussis were mild this season, COVID-19 case counts and deaths were lower than in recent years (he reported 16 COVID-19 deaths for the season), and measles activity remained a national concern with enhanced local monitoring.
Hansen described preparedness projects: a points-of-dispensing (POD) workforce plan and a planned full-scale POD exercise in 2027; development of a community reception center plan for potential radiological incidents (subject-matter expert review completed; next steps: revise, train and exercise); and a warming/cooling-centers ArcGIS dashboard that will show open centers, hours, accessibility, nearest bus stops and allow facility staff to update information in real time.
On traveler screening and monitoring, officials described cooperation with CDC, the National Quarantine Unit and local partners (University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha Fire Department, 911) to ensure safe routing and oversight of returning travelers. Wetzel explained risk-tiered screening at some U.S. airports, local assessment practices, and the optional/active use of RedCap-based monitoring for medium-to-high risk travelers.
What happens next: the department plans more training and an exercise schedule for PODs and the community reception center, continued monitoring of hantavirus and Ebola-returning travelers, and rollout of public-facing infectious-disease dashboards.
