Dayton: Feds should screen for Ebola at MSP

Gov. Mark Dayton said Thursday that he will urge Minnesota's Congressional delegation to review the federal decision not to include Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in the nation's Ebola screening effort.

During a meeting with his cabinet, Dayton said Minnesota has one of the largest Liberian populations in the United States. He said it might make sense to add the Twin Cities airport to the list of five airports that will perform Ebola screenings on passengers arriving from West Africa.

The governor said when he discussed the issue with officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, they told him that that Minnesota's Ebola risk from travelers was considered low.

"I do intend to pursue with the Congressional delegation," Dayton said. "Hopefully with their support with the federal authorities in Atlanta, we'll have them look at this decision and give us their reason why medically speaking they don't think it's necessary."

Minnesota does not receive any direct flights from West Africa. Anyone who arrived in the state from that part of the world would have already been screened, in most cases, at least twice.

Still, Dayton said Minnesotans should be assured that everything humanly possible is being done to prevent an Ebola case in the state.

If a case does occur, Minnesota Commissioner of Health Ed Ehlinger said the state is well prepared to handle it.

"It is possible that a case could be found in Minnesota," Ehlinger said. "But our public health system, one of the best in the country, best in the world would make it very unlikely that we would see the infection spread very easily."

Ehlinger said in April that the state contained a Lassa fever case — a contagious infection which is similar to Ebola. That case involved an airline passenger who was returning to Minnesota from West Africa where the virus is common.

Ehlinger said the Health Department responded to the case quickly and no one else became infected.