(Newswire.net — September 25, 2014) — Airlines are permitted “to deny boarding to air travelers with serious contagious diseases that could spread during flight, including travelers with possible Ebola symptoms.” If a passenger gets sick on board, cabin crew should follow routine infection control precautions. If it is confirmed that the traveler has “infectious Ebola” on the flight, “CDC will conduct an investigation to assess risk and inform passengers and crew of possible exposure.”
The fear of the outbreak spreading beyond the current West African locations (Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Senegal) ‒ or even the continent ‒ intensified in July, when a Liberian man, sick with Ebola, was able to board an international flight to Nigeria. None of the passengers on that aircraft appeared to have contracted the disease in the weeks after the incident.
Ebola spreads by direct contact with infected bodily fluids, so the CDC noted that the risk to passengers and crew aboard an aircraft is low. “Ebola does NOT spread through the air like flu,” the agency stressed.
Still, the guidance calls for the sick passenger to be separated from others as much as possible.
Dr. Jorge Rodriquez, a board certified internal medicine professional, told The Blaze’s Mike Opelka during a Saturday radio interview that more precautions are needed to combat Ebola transmission on commuter flights. He believes every traveler entering the country should be tested.
When dealing with the passenger, flight attendants and other crew members should wear surgical masks, face shields or goggles and protective aprons or gowns. It also says that sick passengers should be given surgical masks if they are coughing or sneezing, as long as they can tolerate wearing one.
If they cannot, flight crews should “provide tissues and ask the person to cover mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing.”
Airline captains are legally required to report to CDC any individuals suspected of carrying the Ebola virus before landing in the United States.
The CDC will be issuing a worst-case-scenario report on the West African Ebola outbreak this week. Early estimates predict the disease could spread to over half a million people by January if no additional action is taken to contain it.