US airports do NOT screen for SARS! >>Re: Imposed Quarantine
« Reply #13 on: Today at 2:44pm »
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The following is from the message board on WebMD.
Perhaps the resources of the CDCand Public Health Service are over taxed at the present time.
Should we worry?
Note; I sent an email to the CDC regarding this issue. In response.I was sent "Interm Guidelines for Personnel Interacting with Passengers Arriving from Areas with SARS."
Essentially, lay non-medical airport screeners are told to visually diagnose potential SARS infected individual. Appy a mask("if available") to the person and isolate. I think we are in serious trouble if the CDC and Dept. of Public Health believe these are adequate preventative measures . Do you trust airport screeners to identify cases of SARS? They can't even spot weapons on x-ray images. Maybe we should worry.... TriciaRN
cdc.gov
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*Note "Hainanloshi" has been logging his experiences in China and the SARS epidemic on Web MD's message board..
Topic: SARS: The Mysterious Virus with Georges Benjamin, MD, FACP >> Discussion: Entering America from China by Hainanlaoshi
Entering America from China
by Hainanlaoshi, on 5/8/2003 1:36:59 PM NEW!
Just flew into America from China (now in voluntary quarantine). Do you want to know what America is doing to screen passengers just off the plane from China? NOTHING! No health form to fill out, no temperature check, no "are you feeling well today?" -- NOTHING! Someone could have walked off that plane with full-blown SARS and the customs officials would have been clueless.
While traveling through China (on the way out), I encountered numerous health checks -- on the road going out of my town there was a road block, everyone entering town had their temp checked and anyone coming from the mainland would get slapped into quarantine. In every airport in China we had to fill out a health questionnaire and we had our temperature checked before boarding and disembarking. But once we left the country, that was it. The last time temperature was checked or we had any kind of health screening was in Shanghai airport. It took 17 hours to travel to the entry port of Dallas (via Tokyo), and in that 17 hours there was no screening of any kind.
Seems like America should be doing a better job of screening folks coming from the hotspots. Not to mention quarantining! I arrived in my American hometown to receive the news that a 12 year old boy here who had recently traveled to Toronto, has now been diagnosed with probable SARS. Well, the local health officials here have reported that he has been isolated at home (apparently not ill enough to be in hospital), but his parents, who are his caregivers during his illness, have NOT been quarantined, and are continuing to go to work and around town. Are we waiting for someone to die before America gets serious about containing and preventing further importation of this disease?
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Re: Entering America from China
by gogojunior, on 5/8/2003 2:00:49 PM NEW!
My father in law has been in China for 5 months and is returning home via Hong Kong to get his wife in Alaska. From there, they are going to see all of their kids in various states, arriving at my home on the 12th day after his return to the states. Despite that 10 day "watch and wait" period, my husband and I are very afraid of exposing our three year old son, who has had problems with immune system in the past - are we over reacting in telling them to not come and see us?
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Re: Re: Entering America from China
by brieaukirsch, on 5/8/2003 2:39:50 PM NEW!
If they are arriving at your home on day 12 and are symptom-free, there is probably no SARS- related anything to be concerned about. WHO is currently looking into a 14-day incubation period but that has NOT been established, is very rare, and the current WHO guideline remains at a maximum of 10 days.
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Re: Entering America from China
by brieaukirsch, on 5/8/2003 2:35:42 PM NEW!
Holy crap. Is it OK for you to tell us from which airport you entered? Perhaps if concerned citizens like yourself and I called something could be done? I was under the impression that all passengers would be at least given pamphlets! - not that pamphlets will do much but it is better than nothing.
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Re: Re: Entering America from China
by brieaukirsch, on 5/8/2003 2:36:55 PM NEW!
Sorry, sorry, just reread it...Dallas. OK, as a resident of Florida, which has 5-6 international (southeast Asia and Toronto) entry airports I am now more concerned. We have at least 3 probable cases and almost 20 suspected.
Laoshi, happy to hear you got back safely.<<
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