Atlanta airport starts mandatory Ebola screenings for some travelers

Ebola screenings start at Atlanta airport

U.S. citizens arriving from three African nations are now undergoing mandatory health checks at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport as officials try to stop the spread of a deadly virus outbreak.

ATLANTA - U.S. citizens arriving from three African nations are now undergoing health checks at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport as officials try to stop the spread of a deadly Ebola outbreak.

The screening program, which expanded to Atlanta on Saturday, requires travelers to complete health questionnaires and temperature checks before they can continue their onward travel.

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What we know:

The CDC is partnering with federal agencies like U.S. Customs Border Patrol and the state health department to manage this effort. 

Travelers arriving from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and South Sudan  must go through temperature monitoring and fill out a brief health questionnaire. Monday marks the third full day of these screenings at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

If travelers are cleared to leave the airport, they will be monitored for 21 days by a state health department at their final destination. 

Officials are watching for symptoms such as vomiting, bleeding, diarrhea and fever. Anyone suspected of having the virus will be taken directly to a local hospital, which would very likely be Emory University Hospital.

What we don't know:

It is currently unclear exactly how many passengers have been screened at the airport since the program began this week. Airport officials referred questions regarding tracking metrics to the CDC, but representatives have not yet responded to requests for comment.

The backstory:

At least 220 people have died from a rare strain of Ebola during this current outbreak, and there is no vaccine available. The screening measure was rolled out progressively across the United States to capture arriving traffic, starting first at Dulles Internation in Washington DC, expanding later to Bush International in Houston, and now to Atlanta.

What they're saying:

Medical experts emphasize that the risk of catching the virus while flying on planes or walking through the terminal remains low.

"It's not a virus that transmits easily like COVID; the coronavirus transmits easily by respiratory spread Ebola needs close contact," said Dr. Barney Graham, who leads the David Satcher Global Health Institute at Morehouse School of Medicine and has worked on Ebola vaccines. He added that these types of outbreaks are most dangerous to healthcare providers because of the close contact required for patient care.

Federal officials state that the restrictions are based on previous screening successes. "We are providing the traveling public an assessment and next steps based regarding their on ward movement based on that screening," Captain Satish Pillai, M.D. stated, noting that the CDC and Custom Border Patrol conduct this type of work successfully with state health departments.

While the screening may not be obvious because people taken away to a certain location, some international passengers noted that warning signs are visible in the terminal. "We saw a sign that said if you are travelling for certain countries be aware of symptoms," said Mark Lippins, a traveler who returned from Scotland on Monday.