EU says no mandatory Ebola screenings on way

In a bid to combat the spread of Ebola, EU health ministers have vowed to improve co-ordination between member states on passenger screenings at EU entry points. But they stopped short of introducing mandatory entry screening.

Speaking after an emergency meeting of EU health ministers in Brussels yesterday, EU health commissioner Tonio Borg said the question of passenger screenings was up to individual countries.

“The decision whether to introduce entry screening and what kind remains the sovereign decision of member states,” Mr Borg said. “We are ready to co-ordinate and give information to all member states who then use it to protect themselves as they see fit.”

He also said the EU would look into “conflicting reports” about whether the screening in the west African countries directly affected by Ebola is good enough.

Paris screenings

Also yesterday,

France

became the second EU country to announce Ebola screening checks at its main international airport. Paris and Brussels are two of the main hubs for direct flights from west

Africa

.

Britain, France, the US and Canada have all introduced screening at airports since the outbreak, but some experts have questioned the effectiveness of screening due to the incubation period of Ebola, typically two to three weeks.

Brussels airport is one of a number of airports that have not introduced screening despite direct flights arriving from west Africa.

US president Barack Obama also spoke with EU leaders by phone yesterday, after he called for a much more "aggressive response" to the disease, following confirmation that an infected nurse in Texas travelled on a plane carrying 132 people.

Mr Obama cancelled a number of trips this week to oversee the response to the crisis.

Yesterday the World Health Organisation said the risk of an Ebola epidemic in the West remained extremely low, though the transmission of the virus was still intense in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

About 8,500 cases of Ebola have now been reported, including just over 4,000 deaths.

Secondary case

According to the

European Commission

, 10 patients have been repatriated to

Europe

with confirmed or suspected Ebola since the recent outbreak.

The first secondary case was confirmed last week when it was revealed that a nurse in Spain had contracted Ebola after treating an infected man who had contracted the disease in Liberia.