Karachi airport steps up Ebola screening ahead of Hajj pilgrims’ return

KARACHI: Authorities have intensified health screening and surveillance for international arrivals at Jinnah International Airport in Karachi amid concerns over the possible spread of the Ebola virus, with additional precautions being put in place before Hajj pilgrims begin returning from Saudi Arabia.

Health officials said the enhanced monitoring would cover passengers arriving from abroad, especially from African countries where Ebola outbreaks have been reported, as well as pilgrims returning from Jeddah during the Hajj operation. The return of pilgrims is expected to begin from the third day of Eidul Azha.

Dr Syed Zafar Mehdi, the Provincial Health Department’s focal person at Karachi airport, said viruses could spread across borders through travellers, particularly from countries currently affected by Ebola outbreaks. He said dedicated staff had been deployed at the airport to examine incoming passengers with scanners and thermal guns.

According to Dr Mehdi, any passenger found to have a high fever or visible skin rashes, including red spots on the body, would be sent for further medical assessment to the Sindh Government Infectious Diseases Hospital in NIPA. He said such suspected patients would remain in isolation there until their test results were received.

Emergency arrangements finalised

Dr Mehdi said health department personnel posted at the airport had also received training to identify Ebola symptoms and carry out the required screening procedures. He added that the Sindh Health Department had completed precautionary and emergency arrangements at Jinnah International Airport following the recent international declaration on the spread of Ebola as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

He further said emergency ambulances had been stationed at the airport so that any passenger showing symptoms of an infectious disease could be moved immediately to the designated hospital for isolation and treatment.

WHO warning on outbreak

Separately, World Health Organisation Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday that the ongoing Ebola outbreak had already caused 220 suspected deaths, and warned that delays in detecting infections had made containment efforts more difficult for health responders.

Speaking about the pace of the outbreak, Tedros said: "We are urgently scaling up operations, but at the moment the epidemic is outpacing us."