NBC Poll: Total Ban Favored on Flights With Ebola Risk

A majority of Americans believe all incoming flights from West African countries suffering from Ebola outbreaks should be banned, a new poll has found.

According to an NBC News online survey conducted Oct. 7 of 1,010 adults, 58 percent of Americans want a ban on flights from countries that are being hardest hit by the deadly virus. Twenty percent oppose a ban on travel, and the balance of those surveyed are unsure.

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The poll also found that 51 percent of Americans are afraid there will be an Ebola outbreak in the United States and 30 percent are worried that someone in their family would be exposed to the deadly disease.

At the same time, 72 percent of respondents understood that the disease is spread through contact with bodily fluids as opposed to being airborne.

"People actually have to have a decent understanding in how you contract Ebola. Only 10 percent said through the air, and 15 percent said through the skin," said John Lapinksi, director of elections at NBC News who helped with the survey. "The knowledge [result] is not trivial."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Wednesday it was tightening screening procedures at airports for passengers arriving from Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Authorities will be questioning those travelers about their medical history, taking their temperatures, and performing physical screenings for signs of illness.

The survey also found that there is a high level of public trust in health officials to prevent the spread of Ebola in the U.S. Specifically, 76 percent of Americans said they trust the CDC to prevent an outbreak, compared to 62 percent who said they trust the health department in their own state.

Meanwhile, by a margin of almost 2 to 1, Americans disapprove of sending U.S. troops to Africa to help combat the epidemic.

The survey was taken one day before the first person to be diagnosed with Ebola in the U.S. died of the disease. His family has called for a hospital investigation into his death.

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