Airport begins Ebola screenings

FRANCE has begun carrying out Ebola checks on air passengers arriving from Guinea, one of the West African countries worst affected by the deadly virus.

Some 200 passengers on the daily flight from Guinea to Paris Charles de Gaulle airport had their temperatures taken as they disembarked at 6.00 on Saturday morning, testing for signs of the disease which has killed thousands.

The airport did not say whether any of the tests came back positive.

The French government announced on Friday that it was reinforcing its preventative campaign against the virus at airports, following the lead of the United States and the UK.

Meanwhile, unions representing Air France staff have put pressure on the airline to stop serving Conakry, in Guinea, because of the health risks.

The carrier stopped its flights to Freetown in neighbouring Sierra Leone in late August.

More than 9,000 people have contracted Ebola in seven countries so far - of whom half have died.