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Ebola Victim's Air Journey shows weak spots in screening.
Sat, 2014-10-04 17:00 — mike kraftNEW YORK TIMES October 3, 2014
MONROVIA, Liberia — The arrival in the United States of a Liberian man infected with the Ebola virus shows how difficult it is to control or restrict the disease from spreading, and how porous current procedures are in a world of globalized air travel.
Liberian officials said on Thursday that they planned to prosecute the passenger, Thomas E. Duncan, for lying on an airport questionnaire about not having contact with a person infected with Ebola before his travel — a pivotal part of the country’s screening process.
Mr. Duncan took three planes as he flew from Monrovia, the Liberian capital, to Dallas last month, connecting in Brussels and Washington.
His journey illustrates just how easily the disease can travel and how thin the procedures are, relying heavily on the honesty of travelers and the diligence of airport workers. Some experts say that the system, given its inherent weaknesses, could quickly be overwhelmed by the rapidly spreading disease.
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