UK, US Airports begin Ebola screening
London – The UK joined the list of countries whose major airports have Ebola screening protocols in place.Passengers arriving in the UK from Ebola-affected nations will be screened at London Heathrow Airport.
The Heathrow Ebola screening programme is launched inside Terminal 1and will be expanded out to Heathrow’s other terminals, plus Gatwick Airport and the Eurostar Channel Tunnel service.
Elsewhere, following its first Ebola death on home soil, the United States is rapidly implementing its own Ebola screening measures at selected airports. New York’s John F Kennedy will pave the way – thereafter, in coming days, Newark, Dulles, Chicago O’Hare and Hartsfield-Jackson will follow its lead.
US President Barack Obama has described these measures as “…really just belt-and-suspenders…an added layer of protection on top of the procedures already in place at several airports.” Such airports include those in West Africa itself, passengers leaving which are having their temperatures checked for signs of the disease and facing extensive questioning.
According to White House representative Josh Earnest, the five US airports moving to implement Ebola response procedures together handle all but six per cent of passengers inbound from West Africa’s Ebola epicentres. Once all five airport Ebola security programmes have been set-up, the daily supplementary screening count will total approximately 150 passengers.
The 2014 Ebola outbreak is the largest on record. The latest published data from WHO – the World Health Organization – puts the official total death toll at 3,865 but the actual figure could be much higher.
First identified during the mid-1970s, Ebola involves internal bleeds and high nausea levels. Unable to be cured, the condition ultimately causes the shut-down of all body organs and just 10 per cent of those infected with the Ebola virus are expected to survive it.
Unlike tuberculosis and influenza, Ebola is not airborne and only spread via direct contact with an infected subject’s bodily fluids. On that basis, WHO has previously suggested the general risk of it being spread via the air travel industry is minimal.- Airport International
Oct. 14 , 2014
