Stop screening for H1N1 at airports: WHO

New Delhi/Kolkata /Bhubaneswar: With the A(H1N1) virus spreading across the world, the World Health Organisation (WHO) feels screening at 22 international airports in India should be discontinued.
However, WHO officials maintained that it’s a “political decision” that the government has taken and the UN health agency “respects” the decision.
Screening by doctors at airports and thermal scanners have limited effect in a country like India, said Jai P Narain, head of the communicable disease programme at the WHO’s south east Asian regional office.
Salim Habayeb, WHO representative in India said airport screening is not India’s primary counter strategy. “Airport screening could have an added benefit,” he said. “H1N1 pandemic is unstoppable. Whatever has been reported so far is the tip of the iceberg. Containment is not possible,” Habayeb said.
But, the government is continuing with flu screening at 22 airports. Almost 49 lakh air travellers have so far been screened at the airports by a team of 225 doctors and 172 paramedics at 83 counters till Monday. Out of 2,026 positive reported cases, 773 were identified through entry screening.
According to Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, the Centre will buy 24 more thermal scanners for installation at various international airports.Four thermal scanners were imported last month and were installed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi on a pilot basis. After this, the detection rate at the airports went up from 5 per cent to 20 per cent. However, the WHO advice is different. Depending on the H1N1 prevalence, the UN health agency has categories nations into three classes – (a) no cases (b) sporadic case and (c) nations where the virus is in the community.
Surveillance test at airports is useful for the first two categories. But it is of limited value in nations where the virus is in the community. Despite prodding WHO officials did not specify the category for India.
18/08/09 Deccan Herald

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Categories: Airports Aug 2009, Foreign Aug 2009