Ebola-Hit Countries Must Screen All Departing Travellers - WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday that authorities in
countries affected by Ebola should check people departing at
international airports, seaports and major border crossings and stop
anyone with signs of the virus from travelling.

The U.N. health agency reiterated that the risk of getting infected
with Ebola on an aircraft was small, as infected people are usually
too ill to travel, and said that the risk is also very low to
travellers in affected countries, namely Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and
Sierra Leone.

There was no need for wider travel or trade restrictions, the WHO said
in a statement.

"Affected countries are requested to conduct exit screening of all
persons at international airports, seaports and major land crossings,
for unexplained febrile illness consistent with potential Ebola
infection.

"Any person with an illness consistent with EVD (Ebola Virus Disease)
should not be allowed to travel unless the travel is part of an
appropriate medical evacuation.

"If a traveller has stayed in areas where Ebola cases have been
reported recently, he or she should seek medical care at the first
sign of illness- fever, headache, sore throat, diarrhoea, vomiting,
among other symptoms," the WHO said, noting that"early treatment can
improve prognosis."

Countries that do not have Ebola cases must strengthen their capacity
to detect and contain any cases immediately, the WHO said, but it did
not recommend any active screening of arriving passengers.

"It is better if countries do screening on the front-end," WHO
spokesman, Gregory Hartl, said.