Detroit Airport Prepared for Ebola

The Detroit Metropolitan Airport at Romulus isn’t among the nation’s busiest airports where travelers arriving from West Africa are being screened for the Ebola virus, but officials are still taking precautions.

Airport spokesman Mike Conway told WJBK, Channel 2 that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has maintained a quarantine station at the airport for many years, and it will be called into service if necessary.

“We’ve had bird flu and SARS and all these other scares,” Conway said. “We’re actually pretty well-prepared to respond when needed.”

Airport firefighters are specially trained to safely deal with contagious diseases, including Ebola, and have protective equipment on hand, Conway said.

However, the airport doesn’t receive direct flights from Africa, though nonstop international flights from London, Paris, Frankfurt and Amsterdam arriving at the airport would have provided connections from West Africa.

U.S. airports with beefed up screening processes are in New York, Newark, Chicago, Atlanta and Washington, DC.

Tell Us:

• Has the Ebola threat changed your travel plans? What else should U.S. officials do to ensure the deadly disease doesn’t spread here?

Earlier this week, Gov. Rick Snyder said in a meeting with the The Detroit News editorial board that Michigan health-care facilities are prepared to treat Ebola patients if the need arises.

The death of the first Ebola patient to be diagnosed in the United States prompted more fears domestically as the disease shows no signs of slowing down in West Africa, where it has killed 3,800 people and has delivered a potential $32 billion hit to the African economy, CNN reports.

Related:

• Michigan Develops Plans for Ebola Patients - If They Come
• Liberians Urge Americans to Shed Complacency About Ebola

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