MONROVIA October76(LINA) - Assistant Health Minister for Preventive Services, Tolbert Nyenswah, has noted that while authorities at the Roberts International Airport (RIA) took measures to properly screen flight passengers, Thomas Eric Duncan could not have been diagnosed with Ebola at the RIA upon his departure.

Duncan is a Liberian currently being treated at a medical facility in the state of Texas, USA, after traveling from Liberia and later diagnosed positive of the Ebola virus in late September.

Nyenswah made the statement at the regular Ebola update held at the Ministry of Information on Monday.

The Minister said testing for Ebola requires a laboratory procedure where bodily fluids will be extracted from a person and analyze, stating, “The thermometers are not instruments used to detect Ebola, it is only used to determine the normal temperature of a person.”

He stated that doing a temperature test does not guarantee that a person has or is free from the Ebola virus and as such it was rather difficult for anyone to determine whether Duncan had the hemorrhagic virus.

“All of the screening methods were used at the RIA, including temperature and other preventive measures, so the case of Duncan could not have proven positive because there was no test performed, it would have been negative had there been a test because there was no symptom, Nyenswah pointed out.

Nyenswah has further disclosed that Duncan did not pose any risk to anyone at his workplace before departing Liberia because he did not manifested any symptoms of the virus before leaving the country.

He also indicated that the passengers who rode with Duncan and the aircraft in which they flew are not threatened in anyway.
LINA WSG/GDJ/PTK/JKW