Airport authorities have expressed concern over the inadequate monitoring procedures for passengers coming from the Democratic Republic of Congo following the reported outbreak there of the deadly Ebola virus.
Officials of the Manila International Airport Authority—Bureau of Quarantine are now waiting for the instruction or ‘go signal’ from the Department of Health to resume the distribution of health forms to arriving passengers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
The said procedure, they said, was stopped on February after all kinds of virus were reportedly put in control.
But Naia physician Geraldine Yangson said that although the health form distribution was stopped, the fever scanning system remains 24/7.
Manila has no direct flight from Congo but Quarantine personnel strictly monitor arriving passengers with connecting flights from the Middle East countries and those from Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand.
“If given the go signal, we will resume the distribution of health forms to all passengers on these flights,” Yangson said.
Three years ago, airport and health authorities had tightened the screening of arriving passengers at the Naia amid fears of a worldwide spread of the virus. Passengers of all foreign flights arriving at the airport terminals are required to fill out health declaration checklist which asks for their travel histories, addresses and contact details.
Also, passengers coming from all destinations will also have to walk past the thermal scanners set up in quarantine desks.
The World Health Organization confirmed that at least one person has died from Ebola after contracting the virus, signaling another outbreak of the disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
MIAA general manager Eddie Monreal has instructed airport personnel to make sure there is enough hand soap and sanitizer in all rest rooms at the four terminals.
Late last year, WHO published the results of a major trial of an experimental Ebola vaccine in Guinea, one of the three West African countries hardest hit by the Ebola outbreak, showing this vaccine to be highly protective against the deadly virus.
According to WHO, the vaccine, rVSV-ZEBOV was studied in a trial involving 11,841 people in Guinea during 2015.
Among the 5,837 people who received the vaccine, no Ebola cases were recorded 10 days or more after vaccination. In comparison, there were 23 cases 10 days or more after vaccination among those who did not receive the vaccine.
The Ebola virus was first identified in 1976 and caused sporadic outbreaks in Africa. However, the 2013-2016 outbreak in west Africa that killed more than 11,300 people underlined the urgent need for a vaccine.
