Aviation and the Ebola epidemic in West-Africa

[FlightMate]

I find it strange that experts (or health ministers) in the last few years were so afraid of the avian flu that they stocked up on vaccines. Yet the epidemic was nothing like the big disaster foreseen. And there certainly was no
Irrational fear amongst the population.

Ebola could have been stopped in its tracks months ago, yet no officials took the decision months ago.

Excuse me if I don't thrust the capacity of our ministers to come up with a good plan to win this war.

Maybe there's still not enough money to be made yet?

but soon, pharmaceutical firms will have a real incentive to find a cure, and then, we will get panicking messages from our government telling us to buy the 'miracle' drug?

[airazurxtror]

Face à l'accélération des cas suspects en France, aux premières contaminations en dehors du continent africain et à la progression dévastatrice de la maladie en Afrique de l'Ouest, Paris renforce ses mesures de protection contre le virus Ebola. Mettant ses pas dans ceux de Londres ou de Washington, l'Élysée a ainsi annoncé mercredi soir la mise en place de contrôles sanitaires à l'arrivée du vol quotidien Conakry (Guinée) - Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle.

A Roissy, le dispositif doit débuter samedi. Chacun des 200 passagers du vol Air France verra sa température prise par un membre de l'équipe médicale de l'aéroport, à l'aide d'un thermomètre sans contact. Auparavant, pendant le vol, les voyageurs auront été priés de remplir un questionnaire visant à identifier s'ils ont été dans des situations à risque et à savoir comment les contacter si un passager de l'avion s'avère par la suite positif au virus Ebola.

Si l'un des passagers présente de la fièvre, il sera interrogé par un spécialiste de l'Institut de veille sanitaire, qui décidera si, au vu de ses agissements antérieurs, il entre dans la catégorie «cas suspect» nécessitant la prise de mesures d'exception: isolement, transport par le Samu dans l'un des hôpitaux disposant d'une chambre à pression négative et examens biologiques.

La France va également apporter son appui à la Guinée pour renforcer les contrôles au départ des vols. Rien n'est en revanche prévu pour les vols avec correspondances, les autorités françaises semblant se reposer sur les pays, comme la Belgique et le Maroc, recevant les vols directs depuis la Guinée, le Sierra Leone et le Liberia.

http://sante.lefigaro.fr/actualite/2014 ... dispositif

With an acceleration of suspected cases in France , the first contamination outside the African continent and the devastating progression of the disease in West Africa , Paris strengthens safeguards against Ebola virus. Putting in the footsteps of London and Washington, the Elysee has announced Wednesday the introduction of health checks on arrival of the daily Conakry ( Guinea ) - Roissy -Charles de Gaulle .

France will also provide support to Guinea to strengthen controlsof the departing flights. Nothing , however, is planned for the connecting flights, the French seeming to trust the authorities of the countries, such as Belgium and Morocco , receiving direct flights from Guinea , Sierra Leone and Liberia.

[Passenger]

Monrovia has some 15 ambulances for 1,5 mio citizens, with Gordon Kamara one of the few ambulance drivers/nurses.

The New York Times has made a short video (7min30) about Gordon Kamara's daily fight against ebola.

"Fighting Ebola, Street by Street" (Ben C. Solomon - NYTimes):
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/17/world ... iness.html
(starts with an advert that can be skipped after 15 seconds)

[airazurxtror]

OK, everybody has now clearly understood that you prefer what the readers of HLN write in that paper's forum to the advice and opinion of worldwide recognised specialists.

It's also the opinion of the readers of "Le Soir" :

http://www.lesoir.be/reactions/toutes/682962/0/0

Why not acknowledge that it is the opinion of a good many citizens, probably the majority in this country ? Belgium is not ruled by a few self-appointed "specialists".

[sn-remember]

Herewith the analysis of Dr Beutler, an infectious-disease specialist.. He expresses plain common sense without any of the political-speak we are used to in the media.
So here we go
"Over the last several months, scientists at the Food and Drug Administration and World Health Organization have done an excellent job of educating the public about Ebola. They have provided a great deal of factual information and succeeded in preventing widespread overreaction and panic in the U.S. and other developed countries. They emphasized the fact that Ebola is not spread through respiration, tried to reassure the public that air travel remains safe, and they have outlined plans on how to deal with the infection, plans which recognize the biological behavior of the disease.

However, physicians who have been in practice for many years regarded with skepticism some earlier comments from various public health officials and even President Obama that the odds of an Ebola outbreak in the United States are "extremely low." Medicine can be a very humbling profession, and after more than 30 years of practicing infectious-disease medicine, I have learned that the "unanticipated" happens all too often, especially where microbes are involved. Over the last two weeks, the rosy scenarios painted by the Centers for Disease Control have lost their glow and started to unravel.

The fact that Ebola is transmitted by bodily fluids and not by the respiratory route provides no guarantee that there won't be an outbreak in the U.S. or Europe. Consider other non-airborne diseases. Polio was responsible for tens of thousands of deaths in the U.S. In 1952, two years before a successful vaccination program arrested it, there were over 60,000 cases reported. Cholera was responsible for hundreds of thousands of cases in the U.S., although at a time when sanitation practices were substandard. Vaccines and antibiotics have largely eliminated typhoid in this country, but prior to their availability, it caused considerable morbidity and mortality. Obviously, there are major epidemiological differences between all these infections, but none of them are generally spread by respiratory droplet—yet all of them have been responsible for serious or even catastrophic outbreaks.

Now, predictably, we have seen Ebola cases developing in the U.S. and Europe. There is a real possibility that the numbers will proliferate more rapidly than expected. Here are four problems that could contribute to this:

1) Emergency rooms are frequently too busy to establish a correct diagnosis. This certainly has been true with other infectious diseases. (I frequently see patients with sepsis sent out of the ER, only to return the next day.) Sick patients may stay in the waiting room for considerable periods of time, and be placed in rooms with other patients before a diagnosis of Ebola is entertained. The problem that arose at the Dallas hospital ER will likely be repeated many times. And first responders, like paramedics, often don't have the luxury to triage patients properly before administering care. Furthermore, most community hospitals are not prepared to handle Ebola patients, and the required preparations are much more daunting than most people understand. The U.S. healthcare system is capable of absorbing and treating some Ebola cases, but outbreaks, when they occur, will likely be centered in one community or another, so on a local level there may not be enough intensive-care-unit beds or isolation rooms or personnel to handle a moderate-sized cluster of patients. If this occurs during an influenza outbreak, the problem will be magnified.

2) Breaks in infection control policies within hospitals are extremely common. At Texas Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, for example, the patient was placed in a room with several other patients, and the staff did not use the indicated protective gear. This could have happened at any hospital in the country.

3) Although contact tracing is relatively easy with one patient and one generation of contacts, it can become daunting or even impossible if dozens of patients and three generations of contacts are involved. Some contacts will simply never be recognized until after they become ill. Given the long incubation period of Ebola—up to 21 days—it is not unreasonable to think this will happen. And Wednesday we learned that one of the nurses caring for Duncan who was supposed to be under "observation" was able to board a plane for Cleveland. It is not clear how completely the other exposed individuals adhered to their isolation, but when dealing with such large numbers of exposed individuals, there will likely be violations which could potentially result in further transmission.

4) Although it has frequently been stated that patients are not contagious before they are sick, I wonder how absolute this is. Clearly they are infected with the virus before they are sick. They are not shedding virus because they are not vomiting or having diarrhea, but can a patient spread it sexually before they are symptomatic? Or through a nosebleed?

Until a vaccine or effective antibiotics become available, it may be very difficult to stop this outbreak in the U.S. now that it is here. There are ways to slow it down, however, which will provide more time to develop that medicine and to prepare hospitals to handle more cases. Quarantine is one tool that has been successfully employed in the past; currently, it is being underutilized. I would maintain that every individual traveling here from a country with an active outbreak—currently Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Nigeria—should be quarantined.

This obviously will result in considerable inconvenience and some expense, and in this respect I realize that it sounds draconian. But the fact is, it will prevent most importation of the disease. If the quarantine could be established prior to travel, then virtually no cases would be imported from West Africa. Ultimately, it will diminish the total number of people being quarantined and being tracked, since there will be fewer contacts and less transmission. And at the present time, with only 150 people trying to enter the country from West Africa, it is still a feasible strategy. Of course, this strategy becomes less powerful if it is not adopted worldwide, before an outbreak occurs first in one new country, then another. Note that I am not advocating travel bans. It is hard to disagree with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the National Institutes of Health director of infectious diseases, and CDC Director Thomas Frieden when they point out the necessity of engaging the outbreak at its source, and being able to provide material support to the affected regions.

President Obama has stated that we have "little room for error" in dealing with Ebola. But the airport screenings that have gone into effect will miss a large percentage of infected individuals, perhaps the majority of them. Relying on these screenings to prevent importation of Ebola is a huge error. A much more rigorous program is required to prevent, or at least delay, a possible catastrophe. Ultimately, the development of an effective vaccine will make these measures unnecessary; the CDC and WHO's support in expediting the development of vaccines is enormously positive. In the meantime, we need to ask ourselves these questions: Even if there is only a 2 percent chance of an epidemic developing in the U.S., should we be relying on half-measures to prevent it? Should we accept the possibility that we are allowing new cases of Ebola to enter the country every day when we have the ability to prevent it?"

From http://www.newrepublic.com/article/1198 ... ase-doctor

[airazurxtror]

Face à la menace du virus Ebola, les syndicats belges réclament un plan d’action global à l’aéroport bruxellois, à l’exemple des contrôles sanitaires à l’aéroport de Paris-Charles de Gaulle. Une réunion entre le ministère de la Santé belge, les autorités aéroportuaires et les syndicats est prévue aujourd’hui vendredi après-midi à 16h pour discuter d’éventuelles mesures à mettre en place à Brussels Airport. « Nous voulons que les passagers arrivant de ces pays à risques (Guinée, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Congo et Nigeria) soient examinés à leur arrivée, que leurs bagages soient placés en quarantaine et pris en charge par une équipe spécialement formée. Nous voulons également qu’une procédure soit prévue en cas de suspicion d’infection« , a expliqué un porte-parole du syndicat BTB-UBOT.

Les syndicats demandent aussi des garanties pour le personnel navigant de Brussels Airlines. Le syndicat CGSLB, pour sa part, a demandé la suspension des vols de Brussels Airlines à destination des trois principaux pays fortement contaminés -le Liberia, la Guinée et la Sierra Leone.

http://www.air-journal.fr/2014-10-17-eb ... 17980.html

Faced with the threat of Ebola , Belgian unions call for a general action plan at the Brussels airport, like health checks at Paris -Charles de Gaulle airport. A meeting between the Belgian Ministry of Health , airport authorities and trade unions will be held today Friday afternoon at 16h to discuss possible measures to be in place at Brussels Airport.
"We want passengers arriving from these countries at risk ( Guinea , Liberia, Sierra Leone, Congo and Nigeria) to be examined on arrival that their luggage is quarantined and supported by a specially trained team . We also want to have a process in the case of suspected infection " , said a spokesman for the BTB BTB- union.

Unions also demand guarantees for aircrew of Brussels Airlines. CGSLB union , for its part, has requested the suspension of Brussels Airlines flights to the three main countries heavily contaminated -the Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.

[sean1982]

The W.H.O, who some of you here are saying they trust them blindly, is now admitting they made some capital mistakes dealing with the ebola virus.

http://www.hln.be/hln/nl/960/Buitenland ... raak.dhtml

[sn26567]

airazurxtror, are readers of Le Soir better informed than, not "self-appointed specialists", but doctors who have specialised in tropical illnesses, university professors and the like? Asking the question is answering! So please again, let's stick to hard facts and information, not rumours or Joe Public's comments. For my part, I will continue, as I have always done, to report all related news, good or bad.

Ebola screening extended to Manchester and Birmingham airports

Passenger screening for Ebola is to be extended to Manchester and Birmingham airports, Public Health England says. Staff at the two airports will begin checking passengers from at-risk countries after it is introduced at Gatwick and Eurostar next week.

Meanwhile, a Royal Navy ship carrying medical teams and aid experts has left the UK for Sierra Leone.
RFA Argus, which has a fully-equipped hospital, is expected to reach the region by the end of the month and is carrying 225 military personnel.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-29655766

Frontier Air puts 6 crew on leave as precaution amid Ebola worry

Frontier Airlines said six crew members were placed on paid leave for 21 days "out of an abundance of caution," after learning that a nurse who had treated an Ebola victim may have been symptomatic when she flew on the airline earlier this week.

The leave affects two pilots and four flight attendants aboard flight 1143 from Cleveland to Dallas/Fort Worth on Oct. 13, which carried a Texas nurse who later tested positive for the deadly virus, Frontier said in statement late Wednesday.

The Centers for Disease Control had informed the airline Wednesday that the nurse "may have been symptomatic earlier than initially suspected, including the possibility of possessing symptoms while on board the flight," the statement said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/ ... II20141016

Delta says travelers unfazed by Ebola, sees strong quarter

Delta Air Lines said Ebola fears have not hurt the carrier's bookings, forecasting strong current-quarter margins as it ramps up capacity in the Americas and trims growth on transatlantic and Pacific routes.

Delta has already reduced seats serving Moscow, Tel Aviv and Ebola-ravaged West Africa by 20 percent.

"We monitor (the effects of Ebola) on a daily basis, and we have not seen any changes in the booking trends," Executive Vice President Glen Hauenstein said.

Ebola Zone Keeps Brussels Air Lifeline After CEO’s Visit

Ebola-stricken Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea will keep scheduled flights to Belgium that provide a vital link with the outside world, the head of Brussels Airlines NV said after a personal fact-finding mission to the region.

“We’re not a humanitarian organization, but for us to stop flying there would have to be a significant change in the risk pattern,” said Bernard Gustin, whose airline provides the only timetabled services to all three disease-ridden nations. “Disconnecting completely from the rest of the planet would make the problem even bigger.”

Gustin spoke after traveling last week to the Liberian capital of Monrovia, where he said local safety precautions and the airline’s additional passenger screening are proving effective.

“When you look at Europe, we’ve had about 10 cases, and it was all tourists or doctors or nurses or people in direct contact with sick people in the last moments of their lives,” Gustin said in a telephone interview. “And you need to compare that with the numbers of people traveling every day.”

While the Ebola outbreak has inevitably curbed general travel to the region, that has been offset by a surge in trips related to the relief effort, leaving overall demand little changed, Gustin said. Aid workers and people on medical missions now make up a majority of customers on some flights.

The trend has given a boost to the carrier’s cargo operations, with items including drugs and food filling more of the belly space of its passenger planes. As much as 10 percent of freight capacity is devoted to humanitarian supplies carried free of charge, and some aid workers also fly at discounts.

Brussels and Paris Charles de Gaulle airports have been applying no special measures, relying instead on screening at the point of departure, as recommended by the WHO. That’s before French President Francois Hollande said at the European Union-Asia ASEM summit that controls will be introduced as soon as tomorrow for passengers arriving in Paris from Guinea.

Hollande said today in Milan he concurred with U.S., U.K., German and Italian leaders that measures should “be generalized for countries at risk,” though no standard plan has been agreed as yet. An Air France passenger on a flight from Paris to Madrid was earlier taken to hospital in Spain after showing signs of “trembling.”

Brussels Air has also consulted closely with the Tropical Institute in Antwerp, a world-renowned body that traces its history to efforts to prevent deaths in the then Belgian Congo - - location of the Ebola River, where the original human outbreak was recorded in 1976.

Those airlines still serving the Ebola zone have developed rigorous procedures to be applied if a passenger exhibits symptoms after boarding, with the person typically isolated, given a face mask and directed to use a separate wash room.

Flight attendants at Air France (AF) must don gloves, use disinfectant gel, store waste in containers and make inquiries about other passengers the customer may have come into contact with. Parisian emergency services are then alerted to meet the aircraft on touchdown -- something that has happened on seven occasions to date, with all of them proving to be false alarms.

“Ebola is a very bad sickness but a very weak virus,” Gustin said. “While the cases we see are shocking, we know very well how it is transmitted. I hope we keep reason, analyze the facts and get out of the panic mode. The hysteria must be overcome.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-10-1 ... visit.html

[airazurxtror]

http://www.lalibre.be/actu/belgique/les ... 71768a197d

"Pour répondre aux préoccupations relatives aux manipulations de bagages, les procédures existantes pour faire face aux risques biologiques ont été complétées par une mesure additionnelle", indique Brussels Airport.
Les bagages en provenance des pays touchés seront désormais scannés par une société spécialisée afin de rechercher la présence de fuites de liquides. En cas de fuite, les bagages seront détruits.

To address concerns on handling baggage , existing procédures to deal with biohazard were supplemented by an additional measure ," said Brussels Airport.
Baggage from affected countries will now be scanned by a specialized company to search for leaks of liquids. In case of leakage , luggage will be destroyed.

[airazurxtror]

http://tempsreel.nouvelobs.com/topnews/ ... nakry.html

L'intersyndicale des personnels navigants d'Air France réclame au gouvernement la fermeture de la desserte de Conakry, en Guinée, jusqu'à ce que l'épidémie de fièvre Ebola soit complètement maîtrisée.
Les syndicats SNPNC-FO et UNSA-PNC dénoncent "l'obstination de la direction d’Air France à maintenir des vols à destination de Conakry en fournissant comme protection à ses hôtesses et stewards une simple paire de gants".

"Un refus de fermer cette ligne entraînerait un risque grave de propagation de l’épidémie, notamment dans notre pays", écrivent-ils.

En août dernier, le gouvernement français avait recommandé à Air France de suspendre temporairement sa desserte de Freetown, en Sierra Leone, en raison de l'épidémie de fièvre Ebola.


-------
The Unions of Air France demand that the government close the service to Conakry , Guinea, until the outbreak of Ebola is completely under control.
Unions SNPNC -FO and UNSA -PNC denounced " the obstinacy of the management of Air France to maintain flights to Conakry whilst providing as protection to its flight attendants a simple pair of gloves ."

" A refusal to close the line causes serious risk of spread of the epidemic, especially in our country," they wrote.

Last August, the French government had recommended Air France to temporarily suspend its service to Freetown , Sierra Leone, due to the Ebola outbreak .

[sn26567]

To address concerns on handling baggage , existing procédures to deal with biohazard were supplemented by an additional measure ," said Brussels Airport.
Baggage from affected countries will now be scanned by a specialized company to search for leaks of liquids. In case of leakage , luggage will be destroyed.

Brussels Airport Company hires specialised firm to inspect baggage from Ebola-afflicted region

Brussels Airport Company is closely monitoring the situation with regard to Ebola and has been in constant consultation with the Federal Public Health service, Brussels Airlines and the various airport partners concerned.

https://www.aviation24.be/forums/viewtopic ... 34#p307234

[Passenger]

Let's look at the main source: AP’s report about the draft of the internal WHO:
http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7 ... 5e1a9fefd8

The main complaint from the document seems to be that the Africa desk called full alert too little too late. Although it’s shocking what A.P. writes, a better local WHO director in Africa and countering local bureaucracy would not have stopped ebola from spreading in West Africa. Just like the mis-manipulation of the Boston University statistics, the above report from HLN will not qualify for the Pulitzer price because it lacks simple investigation: facts that I could find after 15 minutes. According to HLN.be, the WHO has given no alarm calls about the gravity of the ebola epidemy, and that failure caused that ebola became epidemic (now pandemic). For sure, the African desk has failed. But one quick look at the press release from the WHO head office make it clear that they did warn the world quite well:

WHO Press release 30th May 2014:
http://www.who.int/csr/don/2014_05_30_ebola/en/
WHO Press release 01st July 2014:
http://www.who.int/csr/don/2014_07_01_ebola/en/
Full list of all WHO press releases with ebola figures:
http://www.who.int/csr/don/archive/disease/ebola/en/

Furthermore, seems Associated Press, HLN.be and other western press agencies also haven’t noticed the alarm call that Doctors Without Borders/AZG/MSF gave on 24th June 2014: “With Ebola continuing to spread in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, bringing the epidemic under control will require a massive deployment of resources by governments in West Africa and aid organisations, according to the international medical organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), while warning that it has reached the limits of what its teams can do”.
http://www.msf.org/article/ebola-west-a ... -resources

And finally, A.P. also doens’t report about the failure of politicians and states - failure that Reuters found out yesterday: on 16th September, the U.N. “Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs” organized a general conference on ebola. All delegates from all U.N. member states concluded that 988 million USD was needed to fight ebola. From that 988 million USD, 365 million USD was immediately promised at that conference. From that promised 365 million USD, only 100,000 USD has been funded by 16th October: a gift of from Colombia.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/10/1 ... XO20141016

Conclusion: it's useless to blame the messenger that he didn't shout lood enough. But then, for some here, it's no fight against ebola, but a flight against... Indeed.

[sn-remember]

“Ebola is a very bad sickness but a very weak virus,” Gustin said. “While the cases we see are shocking, we know very well how it is transmitted. I hope we keep reason, analyze the facts and get out of the panic mode. The hysteria must be overcome.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-10-1 ... visit.html

Between "panic mode" (allegedly "average Joe" meaning everybody except oneself and some few other smart people) and "smart mode" (allegedly Gustin and politicians a.o.) there is the "cautious mode".
Actually I don't think that "average Joe" functions in "panic mode", I think most of the "averge Joes" function rather on the "cautious mode".
Besides, I don't think Gustin is an MD either .. no more than the unions delegates are when evoking the work issues related to EVD. Both I imagine are acting like they do on basis of the medical info available.
Which is not an absolute bible since the guidelines are evolving as we are still somehow in the learning curve.
...
And it's remarkable how Gustin (as some others on this thread) seems to overlook the basic fact that we cannot afford to let other Duncans in. Because it's criminal to do so.
So I might be understanding with the policy to continue fligths provided it is demonstrated that they are operated safely. Being cautious, I would expect the protocols to be continuously reassessed and adequately monitored. Some special training seems also necessary.
And the second absolute condition to the flight operation is obviously in my mind to setup a quarantine of min 10 days (since the average duration of the asymptomatic phase is reported to be 7 days). We should evaluate asap how to implement this in practice.
As long as these 2 conditions are not fullfilled, I would suggest that all scheduled flights to the EB-3 should be suspended (knowing it's a failure somehow to take responsabilities).
..
Last thing .. In the internet days and age, many people are informed and even very well. In fact information is available to everybody and it's each of us to decide to take it, select it, evaluate it and discuss it. We partly do that here in the aviation context. So no need to close the debate with the stiff "you are not a EVD specialist" rebuff, provided the statements made are seriously (arguably not HLN) referenced. You know even the specialists do not agree totally on the EVD issue.

[sn26567]

The French aviation authority DGAC has published the prevention measures against Ebola put in place by the aviation sector in France:

Faced with the Ebola virus, the airline industry is mobilizing

To prevent the virus from spreading outside the areas currently affected, specific measures of prevention and aircraft management have been developed by the French health authorities, as for the other member states of the European Community:

• in countries affected by the virus, screening of passengers is carried out by caregivers before boarding at airports in countries at risk;
• information leaflets are available to passengers traveling on direct flights between France and the areas at risk.

In addition, as of October 18, health checks are set up on arrival of direct flights from countries affected by the epidemic (Air France daily flight from Conakry to Paris-Charles de Gaulle):

On the plane:
- Distribution of a fact sheet on what to do,
- Distribution of a form of travellers traceability
- Dissemination by aircrews of an information message.

On arrival:
- Temperature Control of Passengers by health personal.

This procedure complements the checks already carried out in the airport of departure.[/i]

http://www.developpement-durable.gouv.f ... 41205.html

[sn26567]

Belgium appoints a national Ebola coordinator

The Belgian Minister of Health Maggie De Block Friday has appointed Dr. Erika Vlieghe as national Ebola coordinator. Dr. Vlieghe heads the department of tropical diseases of the Antwerp University Hospital. Dr. Daniel Reynders, Manager International Relations and Health Emergencies of the FPS Health, has been appointed as deputy coordinator.

"The risk of an outbreak in Belgium is very low. But we must be ready to cope with infections and provide appropriate care," said Ms. De Block. "The coordination between authorities, companies such as Brussels Airlines and others will now be centralized."

Dr. Vlieghe role will advise the Minister of Health as the coordinator for Ebola. She will lead the Ebola coordination team at the scientific and medical level. She will also be responsible for the overall management and coordinate the flow of information to professionals and the general public: "Our goal is to communicate seamlessly with the public but also with facilities such as airports," said Dr. Vlieghe.

"Existing procedures will be improved," said the National Ebola Coordinator. The screening of passengers could be put in place especially in Belgian airports as part of these new changes. "We will quickly develop more concrete measures. Manuals are not enough. We must further inform the public as well as health professionals," concludes Dr. Vlieghe.

Infectious Diseases Specialist, Erika Vlieghe works for the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp and Antwerp University Hospital where she treats patients, provides training and makes clinical research. She is a member of the Supreme Council of Health, about Ebola, said the statement of the Federal Public Service Health.

Dr. Daniel Reynders specializes in public health and tropical medicine. He represented Belgium at the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European institutions. He has extensive experience in international health crises, the statement said.

Baggage from affected countries will be examined by a specialist company

"Brussels Airport Company decided that baggage from countries affected by Ebola (Freetown in Sierra Leone, Conakry in Guinea and Monrovia, Liberia) would be inspected by a specialist company to look for the presence of liquid leakage," announced the airport in a statement Friday.

"To address concerns on handling baggage, the existing procedures to deal with biohazard were supplemented by an additional measure," said Brussels Airport. Baggage from affected countries will now be scanned by a specialized company to search for leaks of liquids. In case of leakage, luggage will be destroyed.

This measure, which comes in addition to the organisation of information sessions to staff and to existing guidelines of the FPS Health, was requested by the unions. The unions do not dismiss future actions if no decision is taken following a meeting between the SPF, airport authorities and trade unions, scheduled for Friday at 16.00.

Brussels Airport unions meet the National Ebola Coordinator on Monday

The National Ebola Coordinator, Dr. Erika Vlieghen will meet with unions, staff and the authorities of Brussels Airport Monday morning at 9:00. The unions are demanding that passengers from countries affected by the virus are examined on arrival on Belgian soil.

"We are pleased with the decision from Brussels Airport", taken on Friday, "to scan luggage arriving from countries at risk," said Olivier Van Camp of Setca to Belga. "But we want that passengers are also examined, as is the case in France and the United States for example."

A request that the unions, but also employers, will reaffirm to the new Ebola coordinator Monday morning. "If we do not get a positive answer on that, we do not rule out further action. Whether there is a real risk or not, the situation has an important psychological aspect both on personnel and on passengers' concludes Olivier Van Camp.

After Le Vif and Belga

[sn26567]

Eurocontrol monitoring impact of Ebola outbreak on European aviation

The Eurocontrol Network Manager and the European Aviation Crisis Coordination Cell (EACCC)—set up by the European Commission and Eurocontrol to support coordination of the response to network crisis situations—say they are monitoring the evolution of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa and its potential impact on European aviation.

Eurocontrol said the focus was on “coordinating as far as possible the actions of air traffic management partners and airports in support to the World Health Organization (WHO) and European health authorities.”

To date, there have been four meetings of the EACCC focusing on the Ebola outbreak, with the latest one held on Oct. 15.

Source: ATW online

[Flanker2]

Dr. Piot now comes back from "outbreak can be ruled out in first world countries" to
"I think it can be contained."
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/10/16/world ... ?hpt=hp_t1

In a few weeks this guy will be "savig the world" by advising the authorities to end commercial flights to the Ebola-3, mark my words.

I think this case will illustrate how fast governments and so-called "experts" can retract their comments and change their story, in order to deflect blame from themselves.
The CDC has already started off on that path. They started accusing the nurses for not protecting themselves according to protocols that they've never communicated them in the first place. The nurses' union reacted quite promptly and ridiculised the CDC.
...followed by the WHO who's admiting its own mistakes in the initial response.

In this case, I think that mass intelligence is providing with the best thing to do.
The masses are saying that flights to the Ebola-3 should be stopped immediately, while individuals are still trying to push irrational agenda's.

How does this work? What Google is relying on is something I call the wisdom of crowds: Under the right circumstances, groups are smarter, make better decisions and are better at solving problems than even the smartest people within them. On any one problem a few people may outperform the group. But over time collective wisdom is near-impossible to beat. No one, you might say, knows more than everyone.

http://www.forbes.com/global/2004/0524/019.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisdom_of_the_crowd

The crowds have spoken.
Just end the goddarned flights, contain it there immediately, so we can go back to business as usual.

[sn26567]

Dr. Piot now comes back from "outbreak can be ruled out in first world countries" to
"I think it can be contained."
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/10/16/world ... ?hpt=hp_t1

In a few weeks this guy will be "saving the world" by advising the authorities to end commercial flights to the Ebola-3, mark my words.

I think this case will illustrate how fast governments can retract their comments and change their story, in order to deflect blame from themselves.
The CDC has already started off on that path. They started accusing the nurses for not protecting themselves according to protocols that they've never communicated them in the first place. The nurses' union reacted quite promptly and ridiculed the CDC.
...followed by the WHO who's admitting its own mistakes in the initial response.

And what is the relation to aviation (the topic of this thread and of this whole forum)?
Apparently you also failed to read a couple of messages posted today...

[Passenger]

Dr. Piot now comes back from "outbreak can be ruled out in first world countries" to
"I think it can be contained."
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/10/16/world ... ?hpt=hp_t1

False quote!

This is what CNN writes:

Asked whether he believed the United States was overreacting to the potential spread of Ebola, Piot said he hoped the extensive media coverage of the virus would ensure that people are more aware of how to protect themselves. But he said he also believed it was possible to get the current outbreak under control. "I'm not worried about an epidemic in the larger population," he said. "There will be cases. I think we should not be naive about that. But I think it can be contained."

(edited : false quote: there is no "first world countries" in the CNN article)

[Flanker2]

Dr. Piot now comes back from "outbreak can be ruled out in first world countries" to
"I think it can be contained."
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/10/16/world ... ?hpt=hp_t1

In a few weeks this guy will be "saving the world" by advising the authorities to end commercial flights to the Ebola-3, mark my words.

I think this case will illustrate how fast governments can retract their comments and change their story, in order to deflect blame from themselves.
The CDC has already started off on that path. They started accusing the nurses for not protecting themselves according to protocols that they've never communicated them in the first place. The nurses' union reacted quite promptly and ridiculed the CDC.
...followed by the WHO who's admitting its own mistakes in the initial response.

And what is the relation to aviation (the topic of this thread and of this whole forum)?
Apparently you also failed to read a couple of messages posted today...

Isn't it obvious? The relation to aviation is that commercial flights to Ebola countries should end.
And I apologise if I didn't read the hundreds of line of posts that are repeating themselves.