Ebola concerns may be relatively new, but preparedness for disease at Boston's Logan Airport is not, and health officials in Massachusetts say the risk for tuberculosis and malaria coming through the airport is greater than Ebola, even with all the recent attention.
Waiting for family members and friends to arrive from overseas at Logan's Terminal E, some are not without trepidation about Ebola, but over mostly what they don't know about the virus.
"Anybody comes from any country, they should be screened very well. People here are afraid," John Hanna, who was at Logan to pick up his uncle, said.
"Thank God they don't have direct flights here, which will help. I'm not scared, but we have to watch out," said Sam Daher, at Logan to pick up a friend.
Others at Logan agreed with health officials in that there's no reason for panic.
"There's lots of things running around," Donald Hamilton Hunneman, arriving from Germany, said.
Wednesday, the CDC announced extensive screening planned to begin Saturday at five other U.S. airports for passengers arriving from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
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Logan does not have any direct flights from West Africa, but does have an isolation room in Terminal E already in place in the event someone has symptoms when they arrive - and a plan years in the making to respond.
"Massport Fire Rescue can respond to this terminal in less than three minutes, Boston Emergency Medical Services in under four minutes, and a team from the Boston Public Health Commission in under 10 minutes," Massport Fire Chief Robert Donahue said.
The CDC is already screening passengers in West Africa before people board planes there.
Health official in Boston downplayed any threat.
"You could take everybody's temperature in the airport and you wouldn't pick up some of the cases that may actually have Ebola. Education is the answer here, really not taking the temperature from every person walking through an airport," said Dr. Anita Barry, Director of the Infectious Disease Bureau at the Boston Public Health Commission.
Asked if there was concern someone could get Ebola from someone sitting next to him or her on a flight, even in close proximity, Dr. Barry said it was extremely unlikely.
