After the death of Thomas Duncan, the first Ebola casualty on American soil, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of Homeland Security Customs & Border Protection (CBP) have begun to coordinate increased screening protocols for detecting signs of Ebola at five of America’s busiest international airports.

Roughly 94 percent of travelers from the Ebola-stricken nations of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone arrive at just five U.S. international airports.

The airports expecting increased screening procedures include: JFK International Airport in New York; Dulles International Airport in Virginia; Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey; Chicago-O’Hare International Airport in Illinois; and Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia.

Screening has already started at JFK and the other four airports are expected to be initiating the process in the next 10 days.

Dr. Thomas Frieden, Director of the CDC in the U.S., emphasizes that zero risk can only be achieved after containing the outbreak in the affected region, but he is confident that these new screening procedures should help stifle international transmission. Or, at the very least, they’ll work to mitigate an epidemic of….fear.

Current Screening Measures

Currently, Ebola screening measures consist of issuing “do not board” orders to passengers deemed by the CDC and Department of State as “at risk” to the traveling public, as well as providing guidance and information about Ebola to airlines. Posting notices throughout airports to raise Ebola awareness and providing health sheets to travelers coming from or transiting through affected areas have also been helpful.

What To Expect

The screening procedures will consist of targeted questions, temperature checks, and collecting contact information from travelers of affected areas.

Perhaps most important, part of the screening includes an actual conversation with passengers—an attempt to open a dialogue about each traveler’s origins, connecting flights, and any potential contact with infected individuals. People running a fever as indicated by the temperature checks will be subjected to targeted questions to identify where their flight originated and if they’ve been in contact with an infected individual in the past 21 days. If there is any indication that the traveler is carrying Ebola, he or she will be isolated to undergo a full assessment and appropriate testing for the virus.

Since the recent outbreak of Ebola in West Africa, more than 4,000 documented deaths have resulted from the infection. Until authorities can contain the spread of this devastating virus, those numbers will continue to increase and a cry for complete isolation of the area, including eliminating travel to and from the region, will be pervasive.

But will the new screening procedures be effective? Hoof and Mouth disease cost the British economy $16 billion. The SARS economic hit was even bigger—at $40 billion. Much of that was either caused by unnecessary and ineffective travel and trade restrictions.

The bottom line here—conversations with passengers may be the best form of screening outside the affected regions—not at U.S. airports, but at key connecting airports—London, Paris, Amsterdam, and at the Gulf airports of Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Doha.

For more information about travel and the Ebola Virus, visit:

• Should Airports Screen Passengers for the Ebola Virus?
• What Travelers Need to Know About the Ebola Virus Outbreak
• The Ebola Outbreak: How You Can Make a Difference

By Neil Thigpen for PeterGreenberg.com