I Wouldn't Wish This On A Dog

True to its past record of taking swift and decisive measures in times of crisis, the obama administration has sprung into action in addressing the potential Ebola outbreak in the United States.

Customs and Border Protection -- the agency charged with safeguarding U.S. borders and airports -- will take the lead in the new effort. Its officers will escort travelers from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone to a separate area then ask them questions about their health and possible exposure to Ebola.

A non-contact thermometer, placed over their forehead, will be used to take the travelers' temperature. A fever is one of the symptoms of Ebola.

If there are any red flags, such as the person has a high temperature or there's something on health questionnaire that suggests they might have been exposed to the virus, the traveler will then be evaluated by a CDC public health officer on site.

Oh great. The same government that can't build a functioning healthcare web site, that can't protect our consulates, that can't secure our borders, will now protect us from further Ebola contamination by asking people how they feel (how would you feel after a transcontinental flight?) and taking their temperature.

I feel safer already.

In related news:

Madrid (CNN) -- Teresa Romero Ramos sought out help three times.

Finally, one week after first seeing a doctor, Romero found out why she felt so sick: She had Ebola.

Even after her Ebola test came back positive at Madrid's Alcorcon hospital, Romero had to wait.

According to a worker at that hospital, Romero lay in the emergency room -- exposed to other patients as well as medical staff, going back and forth -- for eight hours before being transferred to a hospital in the Spanish capital that specializes in infectious diseases.

She is the first person to contract the deadly virus outside Africa.

That Romero may have gotten Ebola while doing her job is a major cause of concern, especially if she did -- as she told Spanish newspaper El Mundo -- follow the necessary protocols while caring for the missionary.

As she battles the deadly virus, Romero has company.

Five others related to her case were also at Carlos III hospital as of late Wednesday, including two doctors and a male nurse admitted earlier in the day, Carlos III hospital said in a press release.

The nurse's assistant is the only one confirmed to have Ebola. Besides the three new cases, the others include the woman's husband, judged to be at high risk of infection, and a nurse from the same hospital.

Already, there's one victim in this case: Romero and her husband's dog, Excalibur.

It's not known if Ebola can be passed through canines. The WHO has said, though, that it's infected chimpanzees, gorillas, fruit bats, monkeys, forest antelope and porcupines. Yet human infections, to date, have not been linked to dogs.

Nonetheless, health authorities felt they had to take action in case Excalibur had the disease ... Madrid health authorities put down the dog Wednesday.

So the Spanish government acted quickly to kill a dog, when there is no evidence that the virus can be transmitted by canines. Yet that same government - and ours - refuses to restrict or quarantine humans traveling from the infected regions.

Excuse me. I feel the need for a shot or two of 'preventive medicine'...