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Brussels - Belgium's main airport is launching a special procedure to screen luggage arriving from the African countries worst hit by Ebola, amid union warnings that baggage handlers could undertake work stoppages.
Belgium is one of only two countries in Europe that offer direct flights to hard-hit Ebola countries.
A specialized company will now screen luggage arriving at Brussels Airport from Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia to check for signs of "leaking liquids," the airport said.
At issue are concerns that bush meat could be transported, a spokeswoman said. Ebola outbreaks usually result from eating infected monkeys. Monkey meat is a delicacy in many West African countries.
Luggage in which leaking liquids are detected will be destroyed.
"Despite existing directives foreseen by health authorities, there was growing anxiety among airport personnel," the airfield's operator, Brussels Airport Company, said in a statement.
Earlier on Friday, a representative from the BTB trade union had called for luggage arriving from at-risk countries to be "placed in quarantine" and handled by a specialized team, according to the Belga news agency.
Olivier Van Camp had also warned that labour actions could otherwise take place.
On Thursday, some 252 luggages on a Brussels Airlines flight from West Africa had not been properly delivered because of a trade union work stoppage, according to Belga.
But the local ambassadors of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone characterized the Belgian handlers' reluctance to process luggage from Ebola-hit countries as "extreme," the news agency wrote.
Ousmane Sylla, Jarjar Kamara and Ibrahim Sorie called for an international conference on Ebola after a meeting in Brussels organized by the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States.
"We need above all to sensitize and to fight against stigmatization," they said.
Also on Friday, Belgium appointed a national coordinator for Ebola to advise Health Minister Maggie De Block and liaise with stakeholders.
"The risk of an epidemic in Belgium is very low," De Block was quoted as saying by Belga. "But we have to be ready to face cases of infection and to provide the necessary treatment."
Belgian authorities have so far steered clear of the airport Ebola screenings that have been introduced by some European countries, but have not ruled out their future use.
