(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Officials say that air travellers have a very low risk of contracting the disease and only those who exhibit symptoms can transmit the disease to others.
As New York’s JFK Airport starts screening passengers in an attempt to stem the Ebola outbreak Dubai Airports has said that it has the resources and protocols to deal with the situation if the need arises.
JFK Airport started the screening on Saturday and is among the first airports in the West to check passengers from three most-affected West African countries — Liberia Sierra Leone and Guinea. Passengers are asked questions about their present health condition and are also checked for fever through ‘temperature guns’.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) Ebola has killed more than 4000 people mostly in these countries.
Though Dubai Airports has not implemented such screening methods a spokesperson said that protocols to handle any such situation were in place.
“We continue to monitor the situation closely and are in close and regular contact with local health authorities who have oversight on this matter” said the spokesperson.
“We have the resources and protocols in place at the airport to deal with any passenger who displays any symptoms.” Dubai International Airport is the third busiest in the world and is also the regional connecting point for Asia Africa and other regional countries.
However health officials say that air travellers have a very low risk of contracting the disease. Only individuals who exhibit symptoms can transmit the disease to others. Infections happen when there is direct contact with body fluids or secretions with a person who has the disease.
“Unlike infections such as influenza or tuberculosis Ebola is not airborne” said Dr Isabelle Nuttall Director of WHO Global Capacity Alert and Response in a statement released in August.
On the small chance that someone on the plane is sick with Ebola the likelihood of other passengers and crew having contact with their body fluids is even smaller.
Usually when someone is sick with Ebola they are so unwell that they cannot travel. WHO is therefore advising against travel bans to and from affected countries.
“Because the risk of Ebola transmission on planes is so low WHO does not consider air transport hubs at high risk for further spread of Ebola” said Dr Nuttall. Experts have also opined that such screenings are an attempt by governments to pacify the panicked public but in effect would not be of much use in curbing the spread of the deadly disease. -asmaalizainkhaleejtimes.com