DDC imposes health screening measure on all arrivals from Kolkata

The Department of Disease Control (DDC) has decided to take preventive measures, effective today, to deal with Nipah virus. It will subject all passengers arriving in Thailand from Kolkata in India to body temperature scanning and require them to complete forms about their health, as well as being interviewed about their previous health records.

The department’s spokesperson, Dr. Jurai Wongswant, said however, that in practice it may take 1-2 more days to prepare the screening.

She said that airlines, such as Air Asia, Thai Airways International and Indigo, which operate the Kolkata-Bangkok route, will be notified of the new measures, so that their passengers will be informed, adding that this will not be applied to arrivals from other Indian cities because there have not been reports of Nipah virus outbreaks there.

Dr. Jurai explained that the registration and screening of arrivals from Kolkata will help Thai health officials keep track of passengers, in case they were infected before their arrival but the symptoms had yet to emerge.

She also said that the World Health Organisation has not yet issued an advisory on what precautionary measures should be adopted by countries to cope with this dangerous disease, but it warned countries of outbreaks in specific areas in India, so each country may consider what appropriate measures to take.