The Hindu : Tiruchi airport on high SARS alert

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Apr 29, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu

Tiruchi airport on high SARS alert

By S. Ganesan

TIRUCHI APRIL 28. Even as cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome are being reported closer home, Tiruchi airport and district health authorities are on alert and monitoring the situation closely.

The Union Health Ministry has posted another medical officer at the airport to screen incoming passengers. With regular flights to and from Sharjah (Indian Airlines) and Colombo (Sri Lankan Airlines), the airport authorities are taking no chances and have already held a review meeting with the district revenue and health authorities, the airport director, S. Sreekumar, said.

Incoming passengers are now required to sign a proforma, providing details on whether they had travelled to any of the SARS-affected countries over the past few days, their recent health record and on whether they had come into contact with any affected patient. Pre-immigration screening is conducted under the supervision of the Airport Health Officer. After verifying the details provided by passengers, the doctors examine them, if they exhibit symptoms of fever, cough or respiratory distress.

The screening is conducted as per the World Health Organisation directives, circulated among the airports from time to time. Regular updates from the WHO and the Union Government, especially on the spread of the disease to other nations, are also being received here. However, no suspicious case has been detected so far.

Airport authorities have alerted the K.A.P. Viswanatham Government Medical College Hospital here and drawn up a contingency plan. Suspicious cases are to be referred to the hospital immediately.

A separate ward for keeping patients suspected to be affected with the endemic under quarantine has been established in the hospital, the Professor of Medicine, T. A. Samson, said. Adequate stocks of antibiotics were kept ready.

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