Ebola screening ramped up at Australian airports

Federal MP Bob Katter says Australian aid workers returning from Africa should be sent to Ebola quarantine "resorts" to protect the rest of the country from the deadly disease.

A day after drawing flak for suggesting a Cairns nurse suspected of having contracted Ebola had put the nation at risk through her "humanitarian ambitions", Mr Katter on Friday ramped up his criticism, saying border protection "protocols" were not working.

Mr Katter says Australians returning from west African countries should "go to a quarantine holiday resort" until they can be cleared of having the virus, and allowed back into the community.

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"There's 100 houses in the area that I represent that are paradise, absolutely paradise," said Mr Katter, whose electorate of Kennedy includes the southern area of Cairns and the Cairns airport.

"They can have a beaut, terrific holiday there for three weeks when they come home and it will be a very nice thing for them."

"I don't want to become excessive and ridiculous about this but the simple fact is if you go to an Ebola country, when you come back into this country there (should be) a three-week quarantine period."

Screening measures ramped up

Ebola screening measures are being ramped up at international airports around Australia but the Health Department says the risk to the country remains low.

Travellers arriving in Australia from West African countries are being interviewed and screened for symptoms of Ebola by border staff.

These health checks are required for anyone arriving from the four affected countries of Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, along with arrivals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

There had been calls for increased screening after an Australian nurse, who had been working with Ebola patients in Sierra Leone, was tested for the fatal disease after returning to Cairns. The first test was returned negative.

Banners have now been fixed in international airports to raise awareness of the symptoms of the deadly virus, and pamphlets distributed on some flights.

"The Australian government has put in place additional measures to address the low risk of Ebola to Australia," a spokeswoman for the Australian Department of Health said on Friday.

All border agencies have been educated by the Department of Health to identify and quarantine any passengers presenting Ebola symptoms in flights or at airports.

The Department said very few people travel to Australia from West Africa, with no direct commercial flights from any of the affected countries.

Federal Health Minister Peter Dutton said there have now been a total of 11 Australians tested for Ebola, and all have been cleared.

"Our health workers are trained to the highest standard in the world," Mr Dutton told media in Melbourne on Friday.

"We have put in place plans in major tertiary hospitals around the country - that if we do have a positive case, we will be able to deal with (it)."

He pointed out Ebola is not spread like flu.

"There needs to be an exchange of bodily fluids - of blood, of vomit or diarrhoea for example," he added.

Mr Dutton said the high fatality rate of around 48 per cent in the countries affected is in part due to health workers lacking the level of training of developed countries like Australia.

Funeral rituals for those killed by the virus are also contributing to the spread, he said.

"For example, bodies are washed with water, the water is then consumed by loved ones of that person who has died from Ebola," he said.

"And of course there is a rapid spread as a result."

In the US, passengers arriving from Ebola-affected countries will be getting their temperatures taken at five airports as screening measures are bolstered in the coming days.

Negative test for nurse

Earlier, today the first test on a Queensland nurse who has been treating people with Ebola came back negative.

Queensland Health said the result is an enormous relief for both the nurse and for the community.

Sue-Ellen Kovack returned to Australia at the weekend after a month working in Sierra Leone, one of the countries hardest hit by the epidemic which has so far claimed almost 3900 lives across five west African countries.

The 57-year-old was admitted to Cairns Hospital on Thursday with a "low-grade fever" raising fears she may have become infected with the deadly virus.

Ms Kovac is currently undergoing testing after returning from Africa. Photo: Supplied

Queensland's Chief Health Officer said,"It absolutely confirms that there was no risk to anyone at any stage when she returned back to Cairns.

"The plan now is that we will keep a very close eye on her because she still is a bit unwell. Her fever has resolved overnight, which is excellent news but she still does have some other symptoms."

However she will remain under observation in the Cairns Hospital.

Ms Kovack is now at day 10 of the incubation period.

"This is a necessary precaution given the patient has been to West Africa and has had a fever within the incubation period of 21 days, said Dr Young in a statement on Friday.

"For the sake of her health and to follow due diligence, we want to be sure she is clear of Ebola virus disease as well as any other disease."

Queensland Premier Campbell Newman told 7News on Friday morning that Kovack would need three days of negative testing before she is fully cleared.

The Federal Health Minister Peter Dutton said people who arrive into Australia from an affected African nation are screened.

"Already we’ve had 11 cases that have presented across the country that have all been negative,” he said.

Mr Walton said it was vital Red Cross aid workers were available to help combat the Ebola crisis, but everything possible was done to reduce the risk to them.

"It's a tribute to the bravery and courage of many health workers and aid workers that they do go to very difficult environments," he said.

"We do all we can to mitigate all the risks attached to that.

"But certainly given a situation and an epidemic such as Ebola, it's absolutely imperative that we do our part to try to contain it."

He said Ms Kovack was well-regarded and had followed stringent isolation procedures on returning from west Africa a week ago.

"She went over to west Africa as a clinical nurse, and very well-regarded professional in that regard," Mr Walton told reporters.

"I think it's a tribute to her professionalism that she has followed that to the ledger of the guidelines, and hence why she presented to Queensland Health authorities."

All aid workers that return to Australia, including those on Ms Kovack's program, were required to present to a local health authority before going into 21 days of isolation where they monitored their own symptoms, he said.

"With Ebola, it does require a display of symptoms before there is any risk of an infection at all," Mr Walton said.

"Once again may I stress the spread of Ebola is through bodily fluids. You cannot catch it through coughing or sneezing.

"So the risk to the community and the risk indeed to this aid worker are still low."

Aid workers creating Ebola risk: Katter

Federal MP Bob Katter says a Cairns woman suspected of having been infected with the deadly Ebola virus has put the nation at risk because of her "humanitarian ambitions".

The outspoken MP, whose electorate of Kennedy includes the southern area of Cairns and the Cairns airport, has slammed quarantine authorities after it emerged a 57-year-old nurse who had worked for the Red Cross in Sierra Leone was being tested for Ebola.

Mr Katter said it was "unbelievable and incomprehensive" how a person could get into Australia from an Ebola infected country.

"There cannot be any compromise with this," Mr Katter said.

"If you want to go to one of these countries, however laudable your motivation, I am sorry but when you return to Australia, you must be quarantined for three weeks - not home quarantined."

Mr Katter said Australian aid workers travelling to west Africa, including Ms Kovack, were putting Australia at risk.

"We love these people, and we honour these Australians for being self-sacrificing, but compared to the risk they create for our country, it is not remotely comparable. One person's moral and humanitarian ambitions are being carried out at a very grave cost to Australia."

However, Queensland's Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young praised Ms Kovack's work with the Red Cross.

"I think she's an amazing lady to go to Africa and provide that service," Dr Young said.

Ms Kovack lived in Cairns with a flatmate, but Dr Young said it was highly unlikely anyone else was likely to contract the virus if she was infected.

Ms Kovack admitted she was nervous before she left, but wanted to help.

"People put up their hands because they have an interest in their fellow man, that's why I'm going," she said last month in an interview.