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The Ebola virus rages on in the western African countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone with 1,145 killed by the virus and 982 more sickened by it as of last Friday, according to the The World Health Organization.
WHO urged the countries in West Africa that are affected by the ebola virus to check people leaving from airports, sea ports and major border crossings for signs of the illness.
"Any person with an illness consistent with Ebola should not be allowed to travel unless the travel is part of the evaluation," said the WHO in a statement.
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Tour operators who take Americans to Africa found themselves up against a familiar problem, confusion over geography.
"We deal with 13 countries in southern and eastern Africa and we do not see it posing any threat to our U.S.A. clients," said David Herbert, head of Great Safaris.
But, said Herbert, "It may pose a perceived threat, if potential clients and their agents are not aware of geography. Africa is over three times larger than the continental U.S.A. and the outbreak of Ebola has been located in a part of west Africa."
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Herbert said it is still too early to know if the scare will have an effect on business.
Karin Jones, managing director of Anastasia's Africa, said the Ebola scare is building.
"At first it was not a problem, but it is becoming one," she said. "We have had no cancellations, but much hesitation at booking and some folks on the verge of booking who have postponed. I was at a non-travel lunch today and a gal said her parents cancelled their trip to Africa and are going to Japan instead. Some people just don't want to take a chance… despite the fact that there are no cases in East Africa or Southern Africa."
Jones took to social media to try to get accurate information to potential travelers, posting a series of essential facts about Ebola on Facebook..
For Africa tour operators it's back to basics, as in basic geography.
"We are spending more time teaching geography," said Ashish Sanghrajka, president of Big Five Tours. "There are no reported cases of Ebola in East, South or southern Africa. The closest distance from to those areas to an Ebola-infected area is 2,000 miles away, about the same distance as Toronto to Las Vegas.
"We are showing this on a map and illustrating to guests that we in the U.S. and Canada, are closer to Ebola at home with the victims in Atlanta, especially us in Florida, than they would ever be on safari in East or southern Africa. We are getting more questions and postponements more than anything else."
It's all about getting the best information to customers. The more experienced in travel the clientele, the less trouble there is with geography.
"Our guests tend to be frequent international travelers who realize that the Ebola outbreak in West Africa is thousands of miles away from the popular safari destinations in East and Southern Africa," said Pamela Lassers, director of media relations for Abercrombie & Kent.
"We have not had any cancellations. We refer travel agents with concerns to the website set up by the Centers for Disease Control which clearly answers the most frequently asked questions."
For more information, see the World Health Organization's FAQ on Ebola.
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