Airport screening detects no suspects

It's been 100 days since the screening of passengers for swine flu began at the Lohegaon airport. And despite the city having seen over a 100 cases of the H1N1 virus in these days...

It’s been 100 days since the screening of passengers for swine flu began at the Lohegaon airport. And despite the city having seen over a 100 cases of the H1N1 virus in these days,it seems not a single case had come in through the airport. The medical squad posted at the airport claim it had not found any person who could be suspected of swine flu in its screening exercise.

A team of five doctors and four nurses,from the health department of central government,and four doctors and two nurses of the state health department were assigned to screen the passengers late in the night,as the two international flights the Lufthansa flight from Germany and Air India flight from Dubai land in the wee hours. The move was initiated with an intention to block the spread of H1N1 virus.

We set up our medical unit at the airport and started screening passengers from April 30. Though our medical teams are on duty day and night,our focus has been on the international flights. Our medical staff have not changed much since the beginning. During the last three months we have not detected anybody at the airport with fever-like symptoms and we did not have to send anybody to Naidu Hospital, said S B Nadoni,senior regional director of central governments health department,who is heading the task.

Is it possible that the team may have missed swine flu suspects,given the outbreak in the city? No. The person could have developed symptoms later but at the airport we have been very stringent about checking fevers, Nadoni said.

Apart from the two regular flights,they have also been screening the passengers of special chartered planes. The staff have now become very adept in screening the passengers. They know how to operate and read the digital thermometer gun in order to register body temperatures from a distance, he said.

The airport authorities have provided these teams with necessary space inside the airport,where they can rest and have their meals. Airport Director Captain S K Mahajan also expressed satisfaction that not a single person had to be referred for further medical tests so far. The temperature checks have been thorough so far. If the team suspects any passenger,he or she is taken to a separate chamber and further screened thoroughly and released only when it is confirmed that the passenger has no flu-like conditions.

An airport official said there are approximately 120 and 40 passengers on every Dubai and Frankfurt flights respectively.

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