ISLAMABAD: Health authorities in Pakistan say that all necessary measures to prevent the import of the Ebola virus are in place and the government has invited a World Health Organisation team to come inspect the country’s preparedness levels on Nov 23.

Director General (DG) Health Assad Hafeez told Dawn: “Airlines have been instructed to inform airports if they are carrying a passenger who has travelled to the countries where the Ebola epidemic is currently raging on.

Know more: Steps taken to keep Ebola virus out

The flight crew will make announcements just before landing and will instruct passengers who have travelled to West Africa to report at the Ebola counter. The names of these passengers will also be announced,” he said.

“Moreover, before the plane’s arrival, a team of health department officials will be on hand to receive the flagged individuals. They will be scanned and allowed to proceed out of the airport after obtaining their contact details and addresses,” he said.

NHS minister inspects facilities at BBIA

“Staff at hospitals have also been trained in Ebola detection and containment and WHO is providing personal protection kits for doctors,” he said.

The DG told Dawn that airlines had been instructed to bring in passengers who had travelled to West Africa to the three major international airports i.e. Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi, because these are best equipped to receive such passengers.

A coordination committee has also been established for every airport to maintain constant contact with the ministry and other concerned departments.

Mr Hafeez also said that Pakistan Army personnel posted to the peacekeeping missions in Africa are already being treated under a quarantine policy.

“Officials of the armed forces are monitored for 21 days in Africa and then they are sent back to Pakistan. Over the past two months, two chartered flights of officials who were on peacekeeping missions have arrived in the country. They were scanned at the time of arrival but not a single one was found to be infected with Ebola,” he said.

Minister’s spot-check

On Thursday night, National Health Services (NHS) minister Saira Afzal Tarar visited the polio and Ebola counters at Benazir Bhutto International Airport and examined the performance of officials deputed there.

She directed that the polio counter be moved to near the immigration counter and also ordered action against a doctor who was found absent from his post.

According to an official statement issued on Friday, the minister was accompanied by Health Secretary Muhammad Ayub Sheikh and DG Health Dr Assad Hafeez.

The minister inspected the working of staff responsible for vaccinating travellers against polio and verifying the polio vaccination certificates of already-vaccinated travellers at the departure lounge.

She also examined the work of health personnel in the arrival lounge, responsible for screening incoming travellers for Ebola.

“We are giving top priority to implementing the recommendations of the International Health Regulations committee and cannot afford any gaps in their implementation,” the minister is said to have told staff at the occasion.

The DG Health told Dawn the ministry had issued instructions regarding polio vaccination cards and the minister wanted to see that if all the instructions were being carried out.

“So far 1.8 million people, who intended to travel abroad, have been vaccinated. Over 95 per cent of travellers get their certificates from hospitals while four per cent get them from airport counters,” he said.

Pakistan has fared very badly in its efforts to eradicate the poliovirus.

The widespread export of the Pakistan poliovirus prompted the international community to slap sanction on Pakistanis travelling abroad, who were asked to provide a certificate of vaccination before proceeding abroad.

The Ebola epidemic, which broke out earlier this year, is the largest in history and has affected a number of countries in West Africa. Every day, scores of Ebola cases are reported primarily from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

According to the World Health Organisation’s Global Alert and Response Situation Report, 13,042 cases and 4,818 deaths have been reported due to Ebola as of November 2.

Although the virus is still concentrated in three countries, a few cases have been confirmed from other five countries i.e. Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Spain and the US.

Published in Dawn, November 8th, 2014