Are American border authorities lax on Ebola?

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The I-Team has learned that American border authorities at O'Hare and other U.S. airports are doing very little to prevent travelers with Ebola from entering the country. That gap in health security has some top experts concerned.

Since the first U.S. case of Ebola was diagnosed on Monday, public health authorities in this country have praised the response capability here, saying "we're not Africa." Tonight, the I-Team has evidence of how true that is. In Africa, health officials actually screen travelers for Ebola symptoms. Here in the U.S. they don't. Even with deadly Ebola racing thru Western Africa, passengers coming from there are given no special attention arriving in the U.S.

This is the newest Ebola weapon being deployed by federal health authorities from the Centers for Disease Control: Posters being sent to hospitals urging them to follow some simple guidelines for identifying infected patients.

There are far less aggressive tactics here at the O'Hare and the nation's other international airports.

Passengers arriving from overseas, even those who have traveled to Africa, are allowed to pass through immigration and customs just like anybody else.

U.S. health authorities tonight tell the I-Team that travelers from Africa arriving here are screened before they board aircraft in foreign countries using thermal screeners and rapid scan thermometers to check for a fever that normally accompanies Ebola.

Dr. Robert Murphy who leads Northwestern's Center for Global Health tonight says the West African borders shouldn't be closed because that would cut off relief workers, but he says travelers coming here should be singled out.

"I think it's easy enough to identify people who have been in West Africa and should be further screened," Murphy says. "I don't see why that should be so difficult, they should stop picking on little old ladies who are carrying tea bags and food products and start focusing on what is really going to hurt people."

CDC officials say it's unnecessary to do what is being done at airports in South Korea and in Nigeria, where incoming air travelers checked for fever. CDC says doing this would heavily burden public health resources and unnecessarily disrupt travelers' plans.

Illinois public health officials tonight have stepped up hospital protocols: intake staff should be checking travel history, specifically to West Africa last 21 days; if patients have fever, masks and private rooms are called for; and there must be questions about past contact with an Ebola victim.