US to Monitor Air Travelers From African Nations With Ebola

HealthDay News – The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that air travelers arriving in the United States from two African countries where the Ebola virus began spreading will be directed to six airports starting this week.

The agency said the airlines “will collect and transmit passenger information to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) to monitor the public health and intervention of all passengers on a flight to the United States who have been in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.” [Democratic Republic of the Congo] Or Guinea in the past 21 days. This information will be shared with U.S. and local health departments to monitor appropriately arrivals to their jurisdiction.

As of February 25, Guinea had 9 cases of Ebola, resulting in 5 deaths, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) 8 cases, resulting in 4 deaths, according to the World Health Organization. In a statement, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that “the Ebola outbreak is concentrated in the remote areas of these countries,” and that “the risk of contracting Ebola for the United States is extremely low.” CBS News mentioned.

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A source familiar with the decision said that John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Dulles International Airport outside Washington, DC, O’Hare in Chicago, Hartsfield Jackson in Atlanta, Los Angeles International Airport and Newark Liberty outside New York were all. They are control points. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not specified which airports it plans to use. CBS News mentioned. This diversionary approach dates back to 2014 when travelers from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea were directed to 5 of those airports, where their temperatures were taken on arrival.

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