Stepped up Ebola screening starts at 4 US airports

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Customs and health officials at airports in Washington, Chicago, Atlanta and Newark, New Jersey, are scheduled to start taking the temperatures of passengers from three West African countries as part of a stepped up Ebola screening program.

Federal health officials say the entry screenings that start Thursday add another layer of protection to halt the spread of the Ebola virus that has killed thousands. Screeners will use no-touch thermometers to try to find passengers with fevers.

The screenings started at New York’s Kennedy International Airport on Saturday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday that screenings will start Thursday at Washington Dulles, Chicago O’Hare, Newark’s Liberty and Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta.

Customs officials say about 150 people travel daily from or through Liberia, Sierra Leone or Guinea to the United States. Nearly 95 percent of them land first at one of those five airports.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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