If health checks at airports were not to happen, a Lancet study brings out a chilling fact which states that close to three Ebola-infected passengers could fly out of countries affected by the epidemic every month. The study conducted by Canadian health research institutes has therefore asked that more robust exit screening mechanisms be put in place.
What is screening at exit and entry?
While exit screening is analysing passengers at risk before they fly out of countries at risk – in this case, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone – entry screening implies checking passengers entering foreign airports from affected countries. Exit screening would help identify travellers with symptoms consistent with Ebola virus disease at an earlier stage than entry screening, said the study. The exit screening already exists in these countries, but the study calls for more robust mechanisms on ground.
Why is screening at exit better than entry screening?
"Our analysis shows that exit screening at international points of departure would offer greater efficiency, and might be simpler to operationalise, as compared to screening all flights arriving directly from affected countries," said the study. On Aug 8, 2014, the WHO proposed the use of exit screening. However, since exit screening is likely to further draw on valuable health and human resources from resource-poor countries in the midst of an emergency, support from the international community will be necessary to effectively implement these recommendations, observes the study.
24/10/14 Maitri Porecha/Daily News & Analysis
To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline
What is screening at exit and entry?
While exit screening is analysing passengers at risk before they fly out of countries at risk – in this case, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone – entry screening implies checking passengers entering foreign airports from affected countries. Exit screening would help identify travellers with symptoms consistent with Ebola virus disease at an earlier stage than entry screening, said the study. The exit screening already exists in these countries, but the study calls for more robust mechanisms on ground.
Why is screening at exit better than entry screening?
"Our analysis shows that exit screening at international points of departure would offer greater efficiency, and might be simpler to operationalise, as compared to screening all flights arriving directly from affected countries," said the study. On Aug 8, 2014, the WHO proposed the use of exit screening. However, since exit screening is likely to further draw on valuable health and human resources from resource-poor countries in the midst of an emergency, support from the international community will be necessary to effectively implement these recommendations, observes the study.
24/10/14 Maitri Porecha/Daily News & Analysis
