Rick Piccolo doesn't feel like it's very likely Ebola will surface from international travel to Sarasota, but that doesn't mean the airport isn't ready. Piccolo, president and CEO of the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport, says security teams at the facility are prepared for the worst-case scenario. "We've held drills already on what to do if anyone shows any symptoms of the disease," he said. "We already have a plan in place."

The topic came up at the most recent installment of SRQ Media Group's SB2 series, which on Wednesday convened a discussion on "Connecting to the World." Piccolo and Dave Sanford, deputy executive director for Port Manatee, spoke at the SB2 panel and both men said that the possibility of an infectious disease being passed through a local port, while remote, was something officials were prepared to handle.

"We take safety just as seriously," said Sanford, who noted Port Manatee is governed by the U.S. Coast Guard, which has its own protocols for dealing with such a problem. A number of ships that dock at Port Manatee are flagged as West Africa vessels, even though the ships may not have ever been to that part of the world, but the more stringent measures come through a close examination of ship itineraries. If one of the last five ship calls for vessel was in a part of the world where Ebola has become widespread, appropriate inspection and isolation protocols will be followed. "We're buttoned up pretty tight."

Piccolo mentioned he had just visited South Africa last week, which caused a number of people in advance of the trip to question the wisdom of such a sojourn. But he noted South Africa is further from West Africa than London is.

He also noted that federal air travel restrictions put in place just last week will funnel any travelers coming from Liberia, Ghana or Sierra Leone to just five prepared airports in the United States; Sarasota of course is not among those airports. Piccolo also stated that as of today, there are no direct flights connecting West Africa to anywhere in the United States. Sanford continued, adding there are no direct cargo shipments coming to Port Manatee that originate in that part of the world.

The rest of the panel discussion discussed everything from the significance in international commerce coming to Port Manatee from Mexico, Central America and South America, with more activities expected once the Panama Canal renovation is completed next year. The airport remains focused on boosting the number of routes to and from the airport, and while a healthy 12 percent of passengers coming to SRQ Airport originate from international destinations, the airport continues to pursue direct flights to destinations in Germany and the United Kingdom, among other possibilities.

The next SB2 event is scheduled for Nov. 20 at The Francis on "International Tourism and Business."