hat-tip @ makoto_au_japon
July 29, 2013
Chennai - In the light of Saudi Arabia and a few other countries
reporting cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus
(MERS-CoV), the Health Department here is keeping track of cases of
fever on a daily basis. However, officials said they had not received
any formal communication regarding the institution of screening
procedures.
“So far, there has been no formal alert
or advisory on checks at ports and airports. WHO has stated that there
is no condition of public health emergency,” official sources said.
Alerts, an official said, came from three sources – Centre for Disease
Control, Atlanta, WHO and National Centre for Disease Control, New
Delhi.
“We are however collecting information on
cases of fever every day. From H1N1 and SARS to avian influenza and
dengue, we are covering all kinds of cases in our surveillance
mechanism. We are collecting daily reports from all major government and
private hospitals,” he said.
-snip-
Over 4,000 pilgrims will leave for Mecca in September from the State.
Officials of Airports Authority of India (AAI) said that there has been
no screening of passengers in the airport as yet. “A few years ago,
during the SARS virus scare, all passengers were subject to an automatic
screening system. If a passenger whose body temperature was high passed
through the device, the system would beep. He would then be taken to
the doctor for examination. But in this case, we have not begun
screening the passengers,” said an AAI official.
Continued: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/health-dept-steps-up-fever-watch/article4964148.ece
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