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Liberia Op: US Troops Battle New, Invisible Enemy

CBN

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More American troops are on their way to Liberia to help stop the spread of the deadly Ebola virus, while health workers and airport screeners step up efforts to protect American citizens.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry gave troops preparing to leave from Fort Hood a pep talk and then bid them farewell.

"You're fixing to do a great service for the world," Gov. Perry told them.

The soldiers will be among more than 3,000 U.S. troops sent to West Africa as part of a mission called Operation United Assistance.

They're tasked with constructing housing and medical care facilities. The six-month mission will cost U.S. taxpayers $750 million.

Some of the troops being deployed to Liberia have fought a visible enemy, but Sgt. Raymond August, based in Fort Lee, is more concerned about a microscopic one.

"When I was in Afghanistan, it was totally different," August told CBN News. "I was concerned about my health, but not really as this one. I'm very concerned about my health. What kind of disease can I get?"

The answer: one that is deadly with no known cure.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz wants to make sure troops sent to West Africa stay healthy.

Cruz said it's critical "... that we also have significant protections in place to prevent, God forbid, any soldiers from contracting this horrible disease and inadvertently bringing it back to America."

And while temperature and health screenings will soon be in place at five key U.S. airports, a false alarm on a U.S. Airways flight from Philadelphia on Thursday demonstrated the public's growing alarm.

When a man sneezed on board and joked he had Ebola, passengers notified a flight attendant. Shortly afterward, workers in blue hazmat suits boarded the plane and escorted him off the aircraft. Passengers booed him as he left.

"This is what you never expect or want to see on your plane is four guys in hazmat suits," passenger Patrick Narvaez said, with evident relief. "It was surreal and I'm glad it's over. I am glad everybody was okay. It could have been a lot worse."

Airline passengers aren't the only ones nervous about the potential spread of the deadly Ebola disease. The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also expressed urgent concern.

"I will say that in the 30 years I've been working in public health, the only thing like this has been AIDS, and we have to work now so that this is not the world's next AIDS," CDC Director Tom Freiden said.

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