Pakistan tightens airport screening after Ebola outbreak in Africa

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has stepped up screening at airports nationwide and put additional precautionary measures in place following the recent Ebola outbreak in Africa, according to the health ministry.

In a handout issued on Saturday, the ministry said Health Minister Mustafa Kamal had instructed the relevant authorities to enforce precautionary screening protocols at all airports to guard against any possible spread of the virus.

The ministry said the current outbreak remains confined to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, adding that the threat to Pakistan is considered extremely low because travel links with the affected countries are limited. The National Institutes of Health and the World Health Organisation’s office in Pakistan were continuously monitoring developments.

According to the ministry, all provinces as well as Border Health Services have been directed to stay alert. It also said Pakistan has the ability to diagnose Ebola and that instructions had been issued to ensure all required arrangements and preparedness steps were in place.

The ministry said the WHO had advised stronger precautionary surveillance, but had not recommended any travel restrictions. No Ebola case had ever been reported in Pakistan or in neighbouring countries.

Citizens travelling to African countries have also been advised to check the relevant travel and health advisories issued by those countries before departure, the ministry said.

Testing and preparedness

Speaking to Dawn, NIH Centre for Disease Control chief Dr Mumtaz Ali Khan said the institution had the capacity to test Ebola samples. He added that similar capability existed at reference laboratories in different parts of the country and that NIH had decided to supply them with testing kits.

Dr Mumtaz said:

“The same capacity is also available at reference labs in different parts of the country and NIH has decided to provide them with kits for testing,”

He also said the virus had so far remained limited to Africa and noted that Pakistan had only a small number of direct flights to the continent.

“The positive thing is that the virus is so far limited to Africa, and we have just a few direct flights from Pakistan to Africa,”

He further said ships arriving at Pakistani ports from Africa were also being screened. In addition, health practitioners and hospital staff were being trained to handle suspected cases.

About the outbreak

Ebola is a severe viral disease transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids. It can lead to serious bleeding and organ failure. The current outbreak involves the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which there are no approved vaccines or therapeutics.

There had previously been only two outbreaks of the Bundibugyo strain: one in Uganda in 2007 and another in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2012.