Is this how to travel to stop Ebola?

Beneath layers of protective gear are the faces of the doctors, nurses and medical staffers fighting against Ebola in Monrovia, Liberia.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks about the severity of Ebola in West Africa and says the U.S. has yet to fully meet the challenge of combating the epidemic.

Demanding travel ban from West Africa ... Jeff Hulbert, left, and Mary Wills protest US handling of Ebola cases. Picture: Jacquelyn Martin Source: AP

A WOMAN turned up at a US airport in a protective suit as the Ebola epidemic shows no evidence of abating.

The woman was seen in the blue plastic Hazmat suit — complete with gloves and mask — in the departure lounge of Dulles International Airport in Washington, The Daily Caller reported.

The image was taken by another traveller who sent it to The Daily Caller.

The future of air travel ... A woman sits in a full Hazmat suit at Dullus International Airport, which now screens passengers for the deadly Ebola virus> Picture: The Daily Caller Source: Supplied

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Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person to be diagnosed of Ebola on US soil, had a layover at Dulles last month while travelling from West Africa to Texas. Duncan died on October 8.

Dulles is one of four US airports that have begun screening for Ebola, along with airports in Chicago, Atlanta, and Newark, New Jersey.

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which runs Dulles, estimates that between 15 and 55 travellers arrive at Dulles daily from the three countries affected by Ebola — Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

Growing anxiety ... A passenger arrives wearing a face mask at Los Angeles International Airport as fear of the Ebola virus continues to grow in the US. Picture: Mark Ralston Source: AFP

The only direct service from West Africa to Dulles is a South African Airways flight that originates in Johannesburg and stops in Dakar, Senegal, before arriving at Dulles.

The Hazmet-suit wearing female reflects the growing concern in the West about the spread of the deadly virus, which has already killed 45000 people in West Africa.

France will begin screening airline passengers for Ebola in coming days at Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport.

Ebola is only transmitted through direct contact with a victim's bodily fluids. There has been only one case of a person diagnosed with Ebola in the US after travel to West Africa.

Nurses Amber Vinson, 29, and Nina Pham, 26, were at Duncan's bedside at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas. They wore protective gear including face shields, hazardous materials suits and protective footwear as they inserted catheters, drew blood and dealt with his body fluids. Still, the two somehow contracted Ebola from the dying man.

As health officials try to figure out how that happened, the nurses' cases have brought new scrutiny to national Ebola protocols that had never before been put to the test at a general hospital. Authorities are examining whether those guidelines need to be rewritten.

A nurse at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, Briana Aguirre, told NBC's Today show that nurses and other employees were asking their supervisors what they should be doing.

"Our infectious disease department was contacted to ask, 'what is the protocol?'" Aguirre said. "And their answer was, 'We don't know. We're going to have to call you back.'"

Aguirre, who did not deal directly with Duncan but helped take care of Pham, said the protective gear they were provided left the neck exposed.

"In the second week of an Ebola crisis at my hospital, the only gear they were offering us at that time, and up until that time, is gear that is allowing our necks to be uncovered," Aguirre said. "I just flat out asked several infectious disease nurses, I asked the CDC, 'Why? Why would I be wearing three pairs of gloves, three pairs of booties, a plastic suit covering my entire body and then leave my neck hanging out this much so that something can potentially go close to my mouth or nose?"

Texas Health Presbyterian had no immediate response to Aguirre's comments. It had said earlier it followed federal guidelines in treating Duncan and "sought additional guidance and clarity."

Infected while working in Liberia ... Aid workers and doctors transfer Miguel Pajares, a Spanish priest, from a plane to an ambulance as he leaves the Torrejon de Ardoz military air base, near Madrid, Spain. Pajares died five days later — the first European victim. Picture: Spanish Defence Ministry Source: AP