Obama: US-Africa summit guests to get Ebola screenings

President Obama said Friday that visitors from Africa who might have contracted the Ebola virus will receive health screenings at a U.S.-Africa summit next week. 

Obama said his administration will take extra precautions at the Washington, D.C., event, where the White House will host nearly 50 African leaders from around the continent. 

{mosads}Attendees who have “even a marginal risk … of having been exposed in some fashion” to Ebola might be screened in the United States, Obama said at a press conference. 

“We’re making sure we’re doing screening as [they leave their home countries] and some additional screening here,” he said, adding that Ebola cannot be “easily transmitted.” 

The United States is leading the response to the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa alongside the World Health Organization. 

In addition to personnel already on the ground, nearly 50 staff members from the Centers for Disease Control will arrive within one month to help contain the virus. 

The death toll rose to 729 on Thursday, with most infections concentrated in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. 

Several African leaders have decided to sit out next week’s White House event as a result of the crisis. 

Obama called the outbreak “more aggressive … than we’ve seen in the past” but sought to reassure reporters that health officials are responding in kind. 

“The CDC and our various health agencies are going to be working very intently with the World Health Organization and some of our partner countries to make sure we can surge some resources down there,” he said.