More Ebola screenings to begin at five US airports

The US government has announced plans to begin taking the temperatures of travelers from West Africa arriving at five American airports as part of a response to the Ebola epidemic.

White House spokesperson Josh Earnest says the temperature screenings will begin Saturday at New York's JFK International, followed by the international airports in Newark, Washington, Chicago and Atlanta.

"These five airports, as you may know, are the destination of 94 percent of individuals who travel to the United States from the three countries that are currently affected by Ebola right now. So the vast majority of passengers from those countries would be subject to an additional layer of screening."

Meanwhile, the first person to be diagnosed with Ebola in the United States has died.

42-year old Thomas Duncan, who contracted the virus in his native Liberia, died in hospital in Dallas.

Duncan had been undergoing treatment with an experimental drug, but failed to respond to the treatments.

In Spain, the local government in Madrid has been ordered to euthanize an ebola-infected nurse's pet dog due to a possible risk of transmission.

The nurse, Teresa Romero, is responding to her treatments, and has been well enough to speak to the media in Spain.

"Yes, I feel better. It goes very slowly but I am doing better"

The Ebola virus has left over 34-hundred dead in West Africa since it began in March.