CDC: No Ebola diagnoses in nearly 2,000 enhanced airport screenings

Nearly 2,000 airline passengers who were traveling to the U.S. from west Africa have been screened for symptoms of the deadly Ebola virus since October without any new diagnoses, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Tuesday. 

The findings were contained a CDC report on airport entry and exit screening for Ebola that spanned the period between August and November. 

The agency said that 1,993 passengers were checked  – and no were infected with Ebola  – after it implemented “enhanced” screenings at five major U.S. airports on Oct. 11 amid pre-election pressure following the first domestic cases of the deadly virus in the beginning of that month. 

{mosads}“Of 1,993 travelers screened during October 11–November 10, 86 (4.3 percent) were referred to CDC public health officers for additional evaluation, and seven (8.1 percent) of the 86 were symptomatic and referred for medical evaluation,” the CDC said. “None of the seven were diagnosed with Ebola.” 

The enhanced Ebola screenings were implemented after Thomas Eric Duncan became the first person to be diagnosed with Ebola in the U.S. in early October. Government officials and the airline industry struggled to reassure passengers that it was safe to fly on commercial airplanes following the diagnosis as additional cases were later reported in Texas. 

Many lawmakers responded to the news of the first confirmed U.S. cases of Ebola by calling for a complete ban on flights to West African nations that are battling the virus. 

Obama administration and health officials resisted the calls, however, arguing that a flight ban would harm relief efforts in Africa because it would make it harder to deliver supplies to Ebola-stricken regions of the continent.

The additional screenings at Washington Dulles, John F. Kennedy in New York City, O’Hare in Chicago, Newark Liberty and Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport were announced as a potential compromise in mid-October.

The CDC said Tuesday that the nearly 2,000 passengers who were screened at the five airports “had final destinations in 46 states. 

“The most common destinations were New York (19 percent), Maryland (12 percent), Pennsylvania (11 percent), Georgia (9 percent), and Virginia (7 percent),” the agency said. “Entry screening provided public health departments with contact information for travelers to facilitate monitoring and provided an added layer of protection for the U.S. public.” 

The full CDC report can be read here.