India-Coronavirus alert: Airport officials beef up surveillance

K R Rajeev, TNN | Oct 28, 2012, 04
KOZHIKODE: Taking a serious view of the reporting of two cases of a Sars-like novel coronavirus infection in the Middle East, the Union health ministry has issued an advisory to enhance surveillance on incoming passengers from Saudi Arabia and Qatar. 

Health officials at Karipur airport said they would keep track of passengers who have respiratory illnesses that are different from the local flu. "There won't be any special screening of passengers at the airport but we would keep track of those reporting symptoms of acute respiratory illness presenting with fever, cough and shortness of breath arriving from Saudi Arabia and Qatar," said Dr K V Hameed, medical officer, airport medical centre. 

The advisory issued by the Assistant Director General (International Health) of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has asked airports to report patients with symptoms of acute respiratory illness as per the case definition provided by the WHO. "The advisory has been made especially with respect to incoming Haj passengers from Saudi Arabia," the letter says. 

The advisory also provides the case definition, comprising clinical, epidemiological and laboratory information, for identifying cases that are listed under three categories — patient under investigation, probable case and confirmed case. 

The novel coronavirus, related to the Sars virus that claimed hundreds of lives in 2003, has claimed the life of a 60-year-old in Saudi Arabia and a Qatari man is currently under treatment in London after contracting the disease. 

Hameed said if a passenger falls under the 'patient under investigation' category, he/she would be subjected to X-ray and other examinations. "The details of patients would be passed on to Union health authorities... As of now, there is no reason to be scared as just two cases have been reported and human-to-human transmission has not been found."   http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kozhikode/Coronavirus-alert-Airport-officials-beef-up-surveillance/articleshow/16986945.cms