Airport screening detects no suspects

Pune:It's been 100 days since the screening of passengers for swine flu began at the Lohegaon airport. And despite the city having seen over a 100 cases of the H1N1 virus in these days, it seems not a single case had come in through the airport. The medical squad posted at the airport claim it had not found any person who could be suspected of swine flu in its screening exercise.
A team of five doctors and four nurses, from the health department of central government, and four doctors and two nurses of the state health department were assigned to screen the passengers late in the night, as the two international flights — the Lufthansa flight from Germany and Air India flight from Dubai — land in the wee hours. The move was initiated with an intention to block the spread of H1N1 virus.
“..During the last three months we have not detected anybody at the airport with fever-like symptoms and we did not have to send anybody to Naidu Hospital,” said S B Nadoni, senior regional director of central government’s health department, who is heading the task.
Is it possible that the team may have missed swine flu suspects, given the outbreak in the city? “No. The person could have developed symptoms later but at the airport we have been very stringent about checking fevers,” Nadoni said.
07/08/09 NitinPatil/Indian Express

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: Airports Aug 2009, Foreign Aug 2009