US sends flights from Ebola-affected areas to Dulles for tests | Today’s news
(Bloomberg) — The U.S. State Department directed all flights carrying American passengers who recently visited countries affected by the Ebola epidemic to Washington Dulles International Airport for increased screening, according to an announcement released Thursday.
All US citizens or legal residents who have visited the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda or South Sudan in the past three weeks will be tested at Dulles along with all other passengers on US-bound aircraft.
The Foreign Office warned that passengers should expect flight changes and cancellations.
Speaking to reporters before leaving for a trip to Sweden and India, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that while the U.S. does not want anyone to die or be harmed by Ebola, “our No. 1 thing has to be that it doesn’t affect the United States. We can’t have cases of Ebola.”
The announcement comes after federal officials issued a travel advisory during the ongoing deadly Ebola outbreak in Congo. On May 18, the US banned all travel to non-nationals who had been to the affected countries in the previous three weeks as part of efforts to contain the outbreak. The African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has condemned the travel restrictions, saying they are often unnecessary and ineffective.
Overnight, an Air France flight from Paris to Detroit was diverted to Montreal after a passenger who had recently been to Congo was mistakenly allowed to board, CBS News reported.
Travelers brought to Dulles will be escorted to a designated screening area, fill out a short questionnaire and have their temperature checked, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement Thursday.
Symptomatic people will be tested to see if the disease could be Ebola, the CDC said. If they are thought to be infected, they will be taken to hospital for isolation, diagnosis and treatment. The agency will then work with local health departments to trace contacts and notify other travelers of the case.
Travelers without signs of illness will be given information on how to monitor for symptoms and will be contacted by state or local health departments for further monitoring, the statement said.
The Congo outbreak is caused by a rare strain of Bundibugyo, one of several types that cause Ebola in humans. There is no vaccine or cure. Up to 50% of those infected die from the infection.
According to the World Health Organization, hundreds of people are suspected in Congo and more than 100 have died. One American missionary tested positive and was sent to the Charite Hospital in Berlin for treatment. His wife and four young children were also exposed and sent to Germany for surveillance. Another American missionary exposed to the virus was sent to the Czech Republic for monitoring.
The CDC says the risk to the public remains low. But entry screening can help slow and limit the spread of disease, the agency said.
–With help from Eric Martin.
(Update with CDC statement on tests from paragraph seven.)
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