The U.S. will begin temperature screening passengers from West African countries at five major airports starting this week in response to the Ebola virus outbreak.

After the death of Thomas Duncan, who died just weeks after traveling from West Africa, officials have been spurred to action, the New York Times reported.

This weekend New York's JFK airport will be the first to begin, followed next week by Washington Dulles International, Chicago's O'Hare International, Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International and Newark Liberty International.

The screening will apply to all passengers arriving from the three hardest-hit West African countries, including Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Each individual's temperature will be checked through a noncontact thermometer, and be required to fill out a questionnaire.

The airports chosen for the screenings have seen that largest number of visitors from the affected countries.

Of the roughly 36,000 people who have left the countries in the past two months, about 25 percent came to the U.S., and of those who came, about 90 percent arrive at one of the five airports which will begin screening.

J.F. Kennedy Airport receives most of those, about 43 percent of the travelers, while Washington Dulles sees the second-highest at about 22 percent.

Travelers who answer yes to any of the questions or who have a fever will be visited by a representative of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) who will provide a health assessment, the BBC reported.

In addition, fact sheets will be distributed to travelers with information about the symptoms of Ebola and instructions to call a doctor if they become sick within a three-week period after arriving.

"We expect to see some patients with fever and that will cause some obvious and understandable concern," CDC director Dr Tom Frieden told BBC.

But, as has happened in the past few months with travelers from the affected countries, some cases will most likely be malaria, which is also widespread in West Africa, Frieden said.