Airlines face Ebola fallout

[marmar]

Health experts say travelers face little risk of contracting Ebola on airplanes, but the disease’s arrival in the United States is bringing new worries about its ability to hop between countries and continents.

Those concerns escalated with Wednesday’s statement from United Airlines that the Ebola patient now being treated in Texas probably connected through Washington Dulles International Airport on Sept. 20 while en route from Brussels. Federal health authorities have said the patient’s trek originated in Liberia — one of several African countries suffering from the fast-spreading Ebola outbreak — but posed no danger to fellow passengers because he had yet to become contagious.

Customs and Border Protection officers are watching for signs of the disease in U.S.-bound travelers, with help from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Meanwhile, airline crews are getting reminders about standard procedures for dealing with infected passengers — including tools like gloves, goggles and antimicrobial wipes. ..................(more)

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/10/ebola-airports-airlines-111538.html#ixzz3F06oqcTv

[JustAnotherGen]

1. I'm not understanding

How they are experiencing fallout just yet - I expected to see

*Customers cancelling flights
*Loss of revenue
*Additional expense for inflight haz mat materials/training for Flight Crew.

And what they DO have (protective equipment) - doesn't sound sufficient.

[NYC_SKP]

2. Gloves, Goggles, and they can refuse to board people with symptoms.

It's not like there's some "universal right to fly" the way there is a right to walk down the sidewalk.

Airlines can, and should, refuse service to anyone who poses a potential risk.

Try flying in an aircraft filled with recirculating air for hours and hours and one or two sick people aboard.

It doesn't have to be Ebola, you can get sick.

Sick Passengers Can Be Denied Boarding, CDC Guidelines Remind Airlines In Wake Of Ebola Outbreak

Even before the first case of Ebola was confirmed yesterday by the Centers for Disease Control in a man who arrived in Dallas from Liberia on September 20, the CDC had already issued interim guidance to airline crews, aircraft cleaners and cargo handlers regarding Ebola infection. The purpose of the guidelines is to “stop ill travelers from boarding, managing and reporting onboard sick travelers, protecting crew and passengers from infection, and cleaning the plane and disinfecting contaminated areas.” It’s unlikely that these guidelines would have helped in this particular case since the man reportedly exhibited no symptoms when he left Liberia on September 19 but they are likely to garner increased attention in light of yesterday’s announcement.

The CDC guidelines remind airlines that they have the legal right to deny boarding to passengers with a serious communicable disease that could spread during flight, which includes travelers with possible Ebola symptoms. (The guidelines emphasize that the risk of spreading Ebola on an aircraft is low “because Ebola spreads by direct contact with infected body fluids”, not through the air like the flu.) The CDC cites Department of Transportation regulations that allow US airlines and foreign airlines traveling directly to or from the United States (without change of planes) to refuse to provide transportation to passengers who have a contagious disease that carries a “significant risk to the health and safety of others.” The DOT rule on denying boarding to passengers with serious contagious diseases is an exception to the Department’s general rules prohibiting discrimination in air travel on the basis of disability. Passengers denied boarding under this provision have the right to request a written explanation which the airline is required to provide within 10 days. In addition, passengers have the right to rebook their flight at the same fare without penalty for up to 90 days or request a refund.

In addition to reminding airlines of their right to deny boarding to sick passengers, the guidelines also address managing ill passengers if Ebola is suspected. According to the CDC, cabin crews should “assess the risk of Ebola by getting more information. Ask sick travelers whether they were in a country with an Ebola outbreak. Look for or ask about Ebola symptoms: fever (gives a history of feeling feverish or having chills), severe headache, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhea (several trips to the lavatory), stomach pain, or unexplained bleeding or bruising.” Cabin crews are also reminded to “treat all body fluids as though they are infectious” and to follow infection control protocols for dealing with sick passengers, including the use of protective equipment if in-flight cleaning is necessary.

The CDC guidance is also directed at cleaning crews and cargo handlers. Since many cleaners and cargo handlers are not employed by the airlines, companies that contract with the airlines, and the employees themselves, should familiarize themselves with the precautions listed here. Finally, the guidelines state that if a passenger is confirmed to have had “infectious Ebola” on a flight, the CDC will conduct a risk assessment and inform crews and passengers of possible exposure. It’s unclear what actions the CDC will take to inform crewmembers and passengers on the flight or flights the Dallas man traveled on since Dr. Thomas Friedan, CDC Director, stated at a news conference yesterday that there was “zero chance” that the man infected anyone on the flight.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/johngoglia/2014/10/01/sick-passengers-can-be-denied-boarding-cdc-guidelines-remind-airlines-in-wake-of-ebola-outbreak/

[MindPilot]

4. I'm thinking trains and buses would be more likely places to pass infections.

While flying you are in close proximity, but rarely actually touching. A crowded trolly car on the other hand, has people packed in armpit-to-armpit and there can be prolonged direct contact with someone's skin.

Also airplanes have really good HEPA filters with a mix of about half and half inside/outside air.

I (fortunately) rarely have the opportunity to be in such a situation, but both of the most recent times--Comic-con and a Paul McCartney concert--I came away with a bad cold.

[NYC_SKP]

9. True, but global spread is mostly by air.

Once it spreads to a new continent, well, we'll be wearing masks like so many do in parts of the Orient.

[deek]

7. Prevention of contagious disease infections

"In addition, passengers have the right to rebook their flight at the same fare without penalty for up to 90 days or request a refund. "

Does this work the other way? If you have the flu, can you postpone your flight without penalty? It should.

[NYC_SKP]

10. Yes, it should and it should be encouraged, but I think it's up to the carrier.

Good point!

[upaloopa]

3. So I heard the patient had no symptoms when

he got on the plane and was not contagious on the plane. There was no way to tell he had Ebola.
I think this thing is more for the media to make money than it is about our safety.

[tabbycat31]

5. My friend recently returned from Sierra Leone

HE was in the Peace Corps, and they pulled everyone out of that country due to ebola (he had 3 weeks left when they pulled him and I was hoping that they would pull him and worried every night).

When he boarded the plane, they took everyone's temperature and refused boarding to anyone with a fever. And they would quarantine anyone who didn't pass the test.

(I'm just really glad he's home).

[uppityperson]

8. I had friends in Liberia when the coup happened, was supposed to be there myself but

they decided all us nurses were too uppity and were looking for more mild mannered americans to be in parts of the upcountry where there had never been such, to get the people used to us so decided we weren't right for the job. Heh.

I am glad your friend went, am glad he got home ok too.

[jwirr]

6. When my daughter visited Mexico an epidemic started there. The US Embassy contacted them

immediately and gave them instructions on how to avoid contamination. When they came home a doctor examined them before they got on the plane and when the plane landed in Texas another doctor examined them again. That would mean that they would catch any danger to the people on the flight if it developed between boarding and landing.

With ebola it would mean that symptoms would be caught before they got on the plane but even if they were clear on landing it would not mean that the carrier could not present the symptoms several days after landing. The crew and passengers would be okay. What we need in an isolation period when suspected passengers (people from effected countries) land in the country. A time period that it would take for us to know that they were not a carrier.

This kind of procedure would have worked in this case down in Texas.