Published time: October 03, 2014 15:59
Passengers flying from Ebola-stricken countries - Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone – are mostly being health screened at departure gates, while the same should be done on arrival as well, believes infection control specialist Sean Kaufman, who was interviewed by Reuters.
Kaufman, who is president of Atlanta-based biosafety company, Behavioral-Based Improvement Solutions, recently traveled from Monrovia to Casablanca to London to Atlanta. At the last two stops he wasn’t fever-screened.
While he was surprised to discover such relaxed attitudes to those arriving from Ebola-stricken regions of Africa in the US and the UK airports, he is simultaneously being skeptical of the airport screenings.
"The fever-screening instruments run low and aren't that accurate," he said. "And people can take ibuprofen to reduce their fever enough to pass screening, and why wouldn't they? If it will get them on a plane so they can come to the United States and get effective treatment after they're exposed to Ebola, wouldn't you do that to save your life?"
Travelers flying from Liberia also have to fill in a questionnaire at the airport, asking them whether they had contacts with those sick. A medical worker from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Tai Chen, described it in an interview with Reuters as “process relying on an honor system.”
Thomas Eric Duncan, 42, who brought Ebola to US from Liberia and was hospitalized September 28, lied in his questionnaire, it was revealed.
Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf expressed concern over Duncan’s bringing the virus to US.
"The fact that he knew [he was exposed to the virus] and he left the country is unpardonable, quite frankly," Sirleaf told Canada’s CBC. "I just hope that nobody else gets infected."
The Liberia Airport Authority (LAA), with permission from the Ministry of Justice, now plans to prosecute Duncan for having lied in his airport questionnaire.
