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Various "experts" in the media keep saying nothing to see here, move along; it's hard to catch, not aerosolized, etc. Even the CDC, in their statement to the public says as much. Yet in their guidelines for airlines they state: •Provide the sick person with a surgical mask (if the sick person can tolerate wearing one) to reduce the number of droplets expelled into the air by talking, sneezing, or coughing.

Ebola Guidance for Airlines

My general question is, do you see a contradiction here or am I reading too much into this?

Yes....and no. While the disease is not considered to be normally airborne, at the same time something that is not stressed is that this strain is 97% identical to Ebola Zaire. The 3% could be significant.

Aircraft air, iirc, is recirculated to some extent, and droplets in the coughed into the air might be distributed in the cabin. Best to stop them at the source, if possible.

I am not familiar with what, if any filtration occurs, nor the degree of recirculation (hopefully someone more knowledgeable can fill us in on that and allow us to better assess risk), but the idea of being the guy who changes filters might give one pause if there is a chance the active virus is present, especially since maintenance people tend to get small cuts and scratches in the course of their work.

I'm not trying to create any panic, here, but at the same time I think a realistic assessment of the risks given an infected person on board the aircraft would be prudent, not just for the passengers and crew but for the people they would contact, including those in the airport.

There seems to be indication that the infected individual need not be presenting symptoms to be able to spread the infection, and if that is the case, containment will be difficult.

Note, too, while N95 is better than nothing, N100 is the standard for filtration with this organism, and N95 may not provide protection.

Bottom line, though, this is a feelgood for airline personnel. If the passenger is infected, it is likely that a significant number of persons around them will be at the very least at high risk for infection, as will the crew who attend to the person showing symptoms.