WASHINGTON (AP) -- Ahead of a White House meeting on the Ebola outbreak, federal health officials said Monday the U.S. is weighing whether to institute extra screening at U.S. airports where travelers from Ebola-stricken African nations may be arriving.<br />
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Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said "discussion is underway right now" and "all options are being looked at." The question, Fauci told CNN, is whether "the extra level of screening is going to be worth the resources you need to put into it."<br />
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Dr. Tom Frieden of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said officials are looking at all options "to see what we can do to increase safety of all Americans."<br />
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President Barack Obama is scheduled to get an update on Ebola outbreak Monday afternoon.<br />
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The Obama administration has said that it won't shut down flights from affected countries, particularly those in West Africa. Fauci reiterated Monday that such a travel ban could end up spreading the epidemic in those countries, making it harder to get aid in, for instance, and further isolating those nations.<br />
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"We need to look at exactly what should be done," Frieden said on "CBS This Morning."<br />
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"We're open to suggestions," he said.<br />
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Addressing the White House meeting later Monday, Frieden said, "We're going to be covering many aspects and figure out what we can do" to protect Americans and stop the outbreaks.<br />
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"Medications are going to be hard to find," he said, but Frieden added that he was encouraged by ongoing vaccine trials.<br />
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"We have to understand that this is going to be a long road and it isn't going to be easy," he said. At the same time, Frieden said he doesn't believe the disease is going to spread widely in the United States.<br />
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"We can stop it in its tracks here, which we are doing," he said.
