African leaders attending summit with Obama in US first screened for Ebola

"String-like Ebola virus peeling off an infected cell." Heinz Feldmann, Peter Jahrling, Elizabeth Fischer and Anita Mora, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health


"String-like Ebola virus peeling off an infected cell." Heinz Feldmann, Peter Jahrling, Elizabeth Fischer and Anita Mora, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health

Heads of state attending The US-Africa Leaders Summit, held today through August 6, will first be screened to make sure they don't test positive for Ebola.

This President's own announcement of Ebola screenings for the visiting dignitaries has sparked outrage among many Africans and Africa observers on social media, who view the test as unnecessary and intrusive.

Three West African leaders canceled plans to attend because of the public health emergencies in their countries.

Some 50 leader from African countries are converging in Washington, D.C. to meet with Obama and "build on the progress made since the President’s trip to Africa last summer, advance the Administration’s focus on trade and investment in Africa, and highlight America’s commitment to Africa’s security, its democratic development, and its people," the White House says.

This is the largest gathering of African leaders any US president has ever held.

Watch live video here.

In related news, Nigerian authorities today confirmed a second case of Ebola in Africa's most populous country. The virus, which kills a high percentage of those infected, has taken the lives of more than 700 people in four countries.

This confirmed second case in Nigeria "is a doctor who had helped treat Patrick Sawyer, the Liberian-American man who died July 25 days after arriving in Nigeria from Liberia."

Here in the U.S., a "secret serum" appears to have saved the life of an American doctor who contracted Ebola while treating Ebola patients in West Africa.