US Sending Flights From Ebola-Hit Areas to Dulles for Tests

(Bloomberg) -- The US Department of State directed all flights with American passengers who have recently visited countries affected by the Ebola outbreak to Washington Dulles International Airport for enhanced screening, according to a notice posted Thursday.

All American citizens or lawful residents who’ve 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 State Department warned that travelers should expect flight changes and cancellations.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking to reporters before departing for a trip to Sweden and India, said while the US doesn’t want anyone dying or being harmed by Ebola, “our No. 1 thing has to be we can’t have it affect the United States. We can’t have Ebola cases coming in.”

The notice comes after federal officials issued travel notices during the ongoing deadly Ebola outbreak in the Congo. On May 18, the US banned all travel from non-citizens who have been in the impacted countries in the previous three weeks as part of an effort to contain the outbreak. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention decried the travel restrictions, saying they’re often unnecessary and ineffective.

Overnight, an Air France flight from Paris to Detroit was diverted to Montreal after a passenger who was recently in the Congo was mistakenly allowed to board, CBS News reported.

Testing Protocol

Travelers being brought to Dulles will be escorted to a designated screening area, fill out a brief questionnaire and get a temperature check, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement Thursday. 

Symptomatic people will go through an assessment to determine whether the illness could be Ebola, the CDC said. If they’re believed to be infected, they’ll be transported to a hospital for isolation, diagnosis and treatment. The agency will then work with local health departments to do contact tracing and notify other passengers of the case.

Travelers without signs of illness will be given information on how to monitor for symptoms and be contacted by state or local health departments for additional follow-up, the statement said.

The outbreak in the Congo is caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain, one of several types that cause Ebola disease in people. There is no vaccine or cure. Up to 50% of infected people die from an infection.

Hundreds of people in the Congo are suspected to be infected and more than 100 have died, according to the World Health Organization. One American missionary tested positive and was sent to Charite Hospital in Berlin for treatment. His wife and four young children were also exposed and sent to Germany to be monitored. Another American missionary exposed to the virus was sent to the Czech Republic to be monitored.

The CDC says the risk to the public remains low. However, entry screening can help slow and reduce the spread of disease, the agency said. 

--With assistance from Eric Martin.

(Updates with CDC statement on the tests from the seventh paragraph.)

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