Swine flu: Screen test starts at IGI

The medical surveillance will be round the clock,airport sources said and will begin Tuesday night.

The ministry also held a meeting with airport operators on Tuesday,including the Capital’s Delhi International Airport Limited or DIAL. DIAL has been asked to provide space and counters for doctors next to the immigration zone at the international terminal.

An airport official said: “If anyone coming in from an affected country complains of fever or swine-flu symptoms,he would be immediately quarantined at the airport hospital.”

The Health Ministry has already issued an advisory to people who wish to travel to flu-affected countries like the US,Mexico,UK,New Zealand,France and Spain,and has warned them against travel for the moment.

The ministry has also asked the Foreign Regional Registration Office to track down people who have entered the city from affected countries in the last 10 days.

Medical officer at the airport Dr B K Singh said: “Though we are yet to receive any official instruction from the ministry,our job will be to check on passengers,particularly if they are feeling ill. We have also advised crews of international airlines to take all precautionary measures.” It is also learnt that international carriers have not received any travel advisory from the World Health Organisation (WHO). A spokesperson from Air India said: “WHO has different levels of threat perception. They have not yet defined any for this disease.”

Swine flu is a communicable viral fever that affects the respiratory tract. It can be fatal. There are at present no vaccines available for its prevention. While the WHO is coordinating the global response to evaluate if the level of the alert can be raised to a pandemic,experts feel the disease has the potential to quickly turn into a pandemic in a densely-populated country like India.