Canada has a plan to increase their efforts to detect Ebola infections in people coming into the country from West Africa, but experts warn that this plan is not likely to be that effective.

Dr. Kamran Khan researches with the University of Toronto. His focus is on global transmissions of diseases and how air travel plays a role. Using air travel data, he calculates the risks of certain diseases spreading globally.

His research into this topic has led him to conclude that Canada’s efforts are understandable but a bit misguided. Plans to screen temperatures of those who might be ill may provide comfort and peace of mind to residents of Canada, but will ultimately not serve to prevent Ebola from entering the country.

He feels the resources would be better spent trying to contain the outbreak in West Africa.

Among Khan’s reasons for reservation is the reliance the new procedures will have on people admitting that they may have been exposed to the virus or do not feel well. He is concerned that this level of honesty is an unrealistic expectation of most people.

“You could imagine going through a screening and declaring, ‘I think I might have Ebola.’ I think every traveller knows what might follow with that,” he said.

The delayed onset of symptoms will also hinder detection efforts, Khan said. It can take up to 21 days for a person to know that they have contracted the virus.

Evidence of the inefficiency of these types of screening programs has come from several different outbreaks in the past. Studies on screening efforts during the 2003 SARS and the 2009 H1N1 outbreaks indicate that little was achieved.

Some findings suggested that screening from within infected areas may prevent people from leaving, but again, there is also evidence showing that is not as useful as many would hope either.

For example, Thomas Duncan flew into Texas from Liberia after signing a statement saying he had no contact with the virus. Four days after his arrival he began experiencing symptoms, was admitted into the hospital, where he died on Wednesday from an Ebola infection. He confessed to helping a pregnant woman who was ill get to the hospital while in Liberia. She also later died of Ebola.