Thai Airways takes precautions against Ebola outbreak

[webfact]

Thai Airways takes precautions against Ebola outbreak
 

 

BANGKOK, 5 August 2014 (NNT) - Thai Airways International has launched prevention measures against Ebola outbreak and implemented further health precautions for its passengers travelling in and out of Bangkok.

According to Vice President of Safety, Security, and Flight Standards of Thai Airways, Squadron Leader Pongpera Paisarnkulwong ,(พงศ์ภีระ ไพศาลกุลวงศ์) Thai Airways is still operating three direct flights a week to Johannesburg in South Africa, which is free of Ebola, and has been avoiding the 3 affected areas in South Africa namely Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia.

The Thai national airline is deeply concerned with the Ebola outbreak, and is launching prevention measures relating to the virus for tourists visiting Thailand, from its ground operations to on-board services, such as monitoring foreign tourists who could be carriers of the deadly virus, said the squadron leader.

The airline has also designated 36 areas of cabins that are mostly touched by passengers as those that require" deep cleaning."

[nnt]2014-08-05[/nnt]

[zydeco]

such as monitoring foreign tourists who could be carriers of the deadly virus

 

 

Sort of vague, to say the least.  I assume they'll be monitoring Thais, too, especially Thais who live, work or visit the West African countries effected by ebola.  Yes?  Yes?? Yes???

[phetphet]

I read somewhere that it has an incubation period of up to three weeks, so I don't see how monitoring passengers would have a great effect on spreading of this disease via air travel.

[Thai at Heart]

Yesterday, the chances were low. Today the chances are low?

Note a doctor in Nigeria just caught it.

[monk213]

Yesterday, the chances were low. Today the chances are low?

Note a doctor in Nigeria just caught it.

 

I still consider taking the US citizens back home with the infection a total dick move, and yes it does have a 3 week incubation period which means you could get a flight to Thailand from Africa, stay here for a couple of weeks walking around, toughing things, coughing, sneezing, throwing your bodily fluids around and go back home before you knew anything was wrong.
 

[Tomtomtom69]

 

such as monitoring foreign tourists who could be carriers of the deadly virus

 

 

Sort of vague, to say the least.  I assume they'll be monitoring Thais, too, especially Thais who live, work or visit the West African countries effected by ebola.  Yes?  Yes?? Yes???

 

 

Why would any Thais live in, work or visit those countries? Most Thais have never even heard of those countries.
 

[Tomtomtom69]

"3 affected areas in SOUTH Africa". Umm THAI Airways or the idiot that wrote this article urgently needs to undertake a geography lesson. The three affected countries are all in WEST Africa. The south-western most portion of West Africa to be more exact and thousands of km away from South Africa.

[Payboy]

The airline has also designated 36 areas of cabins that are mostly touched by passengers as those that require" deep cleaning."

That would be the attendant call button, yes.

[belg]

they can ask you before you board ... had any ebola recently ?

[metisdead]

A post with an image containing profanity has been removed.  An off topic post has been removed as well.

[sanuk711]

.

walking around, toughing things, coughing, sneezing, throwing your bodily fluids around and go back home before you knew anything was wrong.---monk213

 

.

 

Isn't EBOLA caused mainly by sexual contact --- or at least the exchange of bodily fluids ?????--- I can remember some of the madness going around in the 80s when AIDS first made an appearance, With some posters, its begining  to sound a little like that.............................

 

 

"it's extremely unlikely that someone would catch Ebola from simply being on the same plane or in the same public space with someone who was affected. That's because Ebola doesn't tend to travel through the air like the flu and other respiratory illnesses. In order to catch Ebola, you have to touch the bodily fluids"-----http://www.vox.com/2014/7/31/5952515/facts-you-should-know-about-the-ebola-outbreak

[AloisAmrein]

And what about Aids in Thailand? And dengue fever?

[wales01]

 

 

such as monitoring foreign tourists who could be carriers of the deadly virus

 

 

Sort of vague, to say the least.  I assume they'll be monitoring Thais, too, especially Thais who live, work or visit the West African countries effected by ebola.  Yes?  Yes?? Yes???

 

 

Why would any Thais live in, work or visit those countries? Most Thais have never even heard of those countries.
 

 

There are many Thais all over Africa.

[oztaurus]

they can ask you before you board ... had any ebola recently ?

 

Except that they would probably pronounce it "e-ba-laaaah" so nobody would understand what they were asking

[Thai at Heart]

.

walking around, toughing things, coughing, sneezing, throwing your bodily fluids around and go back home before you knew anything was wrong.---monk213

 

.

 

Isn't EBOLA caused mainly by sexual contact --- or at least the exchange of bodily fluids ?????--- I can remember some of the madness going around in the 80s when AIDS first made an appearance, With some posters, its begining  to sound a little like that.............................

 

 

"it's extremely unlikely that someone would catch Ebola from simply being on the same plane or in the same public space with someone who was affected. That's because Ebola doesn't tend to travel through the air like the flu and other respiratory illnesses. In order to catch Ebola, you have to touch the bodily fluids"-----http://www.vox.com/2014/7/31/5952515/facts-you-should-know-about-the-ebola-outbreak

 

 

Mate, it is even present in tears and sweat.  So before you go on about sexual contact, I doubt any of these medical workers were sleeping with these patients.  

[Maggusoil]

 

Yesterday, the chances were low. Today the chances are low?

Note a doctor in Nigeria just caught it.

 

I still consider taking the US citizens back home with the infection a total dick move, and yes it does have a 3 week incubation period which means you could get a flight to Thailand from Africa, stay here for a couple of weeks walking around, toughing things, coughing, sneezing, throwing your bodily fluids around and go back home before you knew anything was wrong.
 

 

 

So stupid is exporting of the live virus, that it is unbelievable. It is so unbelievable one presumes, the American Medical Association, or the American government, have an arrogant attitude concerning the effectiveness of their precautions. Or, there really is the possibility they want to create the scenario of the virus disaster movies as a real event. Containment of the ebola virus has been the prioritised and absolutely rigid method of preventing the spread of the disease. It is tempting to allow one's suspicions to be aroused. What a stupid risk.

 

If it does get out of Africa, the Americans are leading the way.

[Thai at Heart]

Assessment of the Risk of Ebola Virus Transmission from Bodily Fluids and Fomites

1. Daniel G. Bausch1,2, 
2. Jonathan S. Towner2, 
3. Scott F. Dowell3, 
4. Felix Kaducu4,
5. Matthew Lukwiya5,a, 
6. Anthony Sanchez2, 
7. Stuart T. Nichol2, 
8. Thomas G. Ksiazek2and 
9. Pierre E. Rollin2

+Author Affiliations

1. ¹Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana
2. ²Special Pathogens Branch, Atlanta, Georgia
3. ³Coordinating Office for Global Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
4. ⁴Gulu Regional Hospital, Gulu, Uganda
5. ⁵St. Mary's Hospital Lacor, Gulu, Uganda

+Author Notes

• ↵^a Deceased.

1. Reprints or correspondence: Dr. Daniel G. Bausch, Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Dept. of Tropical Medicine, SL-17, 1430 Tulane Ave., New Orleans, LA 70112-2699 ([email protected]).

 

Next Section

Abstract

Although Ebola virus (EBOV) is transmitted by unprotected physical contact with infected persons, few data exist on which specific bodily fluids are infected or on the risk of fomite transmission. Therefore, we tested various clinical specimens from 26 laboratory-confirmed cases of Ebola hemorrhagic fever, as well as environmental specimens collected from an isolation ward, for the presence of EBOV. Virus was detected by culture and/or reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction in 16 of 54 clinical specimens (including saliva, stool, semen, breast milk, tears, nasal blood, and a skin swab) and in 2 of 33 environmental specimens.We conclude that EBOV is shed in a wide variety of bodily fluids during the acute period of illness but that the risk of transmission from fomites in an isolation ward and from convalescent patients is low when currently recommended infection control guidelines for the viral hemorrhagic

 

 

http://jid.oxfordjournals.org/content/196/Supplement_2/S142.full

 

I find it incredible that they talk about the fact that it isn't present when people cough and sneeze.  What exactly are you expelling from your nose and mouth when you cough and splutter if it isn't saliva and fluids.  i think they are being a little tight with the truth that it isn't spread by coughs and splutters.  

[Thai at Heart]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20341423

 

In their experiments, the pigs carrying the virus were housed in pens with the monkeys in close proximity but separated by a wire barrier. After eight days, some of the macaques were showing clinical signs typical of ebola and were euthanised.

One possibility is that the monkeys became infected by inhaling large aerosol droplets produced from the respiratory tracts of the pigs.

 

 

[monk213]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20341423

 

In their experiments, the pigs carrying the virus were housed in pens with the monkeys in close proximity but separated by a wire barrier. After eight days, some of the macaques were showing clinical signs typical of ebola and were euthanised.

One possibility is that the monkeys became infected by inhaling large aerosol droplets produced from the respiratory tracts of the pigs.

 

 

 

This is the study I posted up on the previous ebola thread, it was conducted in 2012 and gave rise to new thinking of how ebola actually spreads itself around, after all it is a fairly new virus on the scene.

[Thai at Heart]

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20341423

 

In their experiments, the pigs carrying the virus were housed in pens with the monkeys in close proximity but separated by a wire barrier. After eight days, some of the macaques were showing clinical signs typical of ebola and were euthanised.

One possibility is that the monkeys became infected by inhaling large aerosol droplets produced from the respiratory tracts of the pigs.

 

 

 

This is the study I posted up on the previous ebola thread, it was conducted in 2012 and gave rise to new thinking of how ebola actually spreads itself around, after all it is a fairly new virus on the scene.

 

 

 

From what i can read of it, the viral load isn't very high until the patient isn't really ill. However, I still fail to see why it isn't possible for someone to sneeze or shake hands with someone in a public environment and spread it.  It may be low risk but hey, its only fatal

[Inepto Cracy]

 

Yesterday, the chances were low. Today the chances are low?

Note a doctor in Nigeria just caught it.

 

I still consider taking the US citizens back home with the infection a total dick move, and yes it does have a 3 week incubation period which means you could get a flight to Thailand from Africa, stay here for a couple of weeks walking around, toughing things, coughing, sneezing, throwing your bodily fluids around and go back home before you knew anything was wrong.
 

 

The possibility of Ebola being harvested by would-be terrorists and used as a bioweapon in a large city is now at the front of the minds of many. Dr. Peter D. Walsh of the University of Cambridge.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/046330_Ebola_dirty_bomb_biological_terrorism_large_cities.html#ixzz39WBYdHF5

[Maggusoil]

The common history of the virus seems to be about 38 - 40 years. That's hardly a new virus. Its been around for what I think is long enough.

There already seems to be a lot of misinformation regarding it and a lot of denial. Typical down playing of its dangers by governments not wanting people to panic.

I first read stories about it about 30 years ago and it was regarded then as highly contagious and absolutely deadly. 

The contagion was not blood to blood but mucus membrane surface, even the surface of the eye. Any exposed surface, so it could be breathed in and survived airborne obviously in the right atmospheric conditions.

As I've posted already villagers used to contain victims in rooms of houses and fill the rooms with the infected, and isolate villages with roadblocks. They obviously knew the best way to survive an outbreak was total containment. If saving individuals is possible they should not be removed from the immediate area.

I have studied medicine and I am not criticising all doctors of it however, the medical profession in general have shown many instances when their collective approach has been very wrong.

There are many very effective anti-virals available which the profession 'never' advertises and rarely even uses.

 

Ebola needs to be treated with the utmost caution.

Any airline or immigration department is doing the right thing to at least try to screen individuals travelling from the high risk areas.

Edited August 5, 2014 by metisdead
Auto spell correction error edited.

[Maggusoil]

Apologies that should read anti-virals. Its the TV auto spell correction.

[BSJ]

I think sneezing would be a problem.  I got the following from Wikipedia:
 
"sneeze or sternutation, is a semi-autonomous,convulsive expulsion of air from the lungs through the nose and mouth, usually caused by foreign particles irritating the nasal mucosa. A sneeze expels air forcibly from the mouth and nose in an explosive, spasmodic involuntary action resulting chiefly from irritation of the nasal mucous membrane ^%5B1%5D  Sneezing is possibly linked to sudden exposure to bright light, sudden change (fall) in temperature, breeze of cold air, a particularly full stomach, or viral infection, and can lead to the spread of disease.
 
The function of sneezing is to expel mucus containing foreign particles or irritants and cleanse the nasal cavity. During a sneeze, the soft palate and palatine uvula depress while the back of the tongue elevates to partially close the passage to the mouth so that air ejected from the lungs may be expelled through the nose. Because the closing of the mouth is partial, a considerable amount of this air is usually also expelled from the mouth. The force and extent of the expulsion of the air through the nose varies."
 
Only a fool would discount sneezing.

Edited August 5, 2014 by BSJ

[malt25]

 

 

such as monitoring foreign tourists who could be carriers of the deadly virus

 

 

Sort of vague, to say the least.  I assume they'll be monitoring Thais, too, especially Thais who live, work or visit the West African countries effected by ebola.  Yes?  Yes?? Yes???

 

 

Why would any Thais live in, work or visit those countries? Most Thais have never even heard of those countries.
 

 

Might I suggest you expand your horizons beyond the local bar. There's heaps of Thais working all over the world. If I thought you were at all interested I could nominate where & what employed as, but I doubt from your comment that you have a genuine interest.

Cheers....    Mal.

[atsiii]

I read somewhere that it has an incubation period of up to three weeks, so I don't see how monitoring passengers would have a great effect on spreading of this disease via air travel.

 

I read on NPR that the virus is not contagious until symptoms begin.  So one can monitor for symptoms as an indication of the contagious phase.

[atsiii]

 

Yesterday, the chances were low. Today the chances are low?

Note a doctor in Nigeria just caught it.

 

I still consider taking the US citizens back home with the infection a total dick move, and yes it does have a 3 week incubation period which means you could get a flight to Thailand from Africa, stay here for a couple of weeks walking around, toughing things, coughing, sneezing, throwing your bodily fluids around and go back home before you knew anything was wrong.
 

 

 

But even more questionable than evacuating the two health care workers to a high security ward in Atlanta, is the African summit in DC this week--with attendees from 50 African nations.  It's true one can screen the attendees for recent travel to affected areas before they come, but you can't know who they have been in contact with before they get on the plane.  For all anyone knows some attendee's house keeper could have just had a family member return sick from Sierra Leon.  While West Africa is sparsely populated, if an attendee becomes contagious while at the conference in DC--a densely populated area--all hell could break loose.

Edited August 5, 2014 by atsiii

[BillyBobThai]

I personally feel like Washington DC would be an acceptable place for it to breakout.

[Tomtomtom69]

 

 

 

such as monitoring foreign tourists who could be carriers of the deadly virus

 

 

Sort of vague, to say the least.  I assume they'll be monitoring Thais, too, especially Thais who live, work or visit the West African countries effected by ebola.  Yes?  Yes?? Yes???

 

 

Why would any Thais live in, work or visit those countries? Most Thais have never even heard of those countries.
 

 

Might I suggest you expand your horizons beyond the local bar. There's heaps of Thais working all over the world. If I thought you were at all interested I could nominate where & what employed as, but I doubt from your comment that you have a genuine interest.

Cheers....    Mal.

 

 

Yes I would be interested in who would employ a Thai in say Sierra Leone, where there are plenty of unemployed locals who are in desperate need of work and would be better off being hired than a foreigner from the other side of the world, who then needs a visa, can't speak the local lingo and stands out in the crowd. When it comes to non-Europeans in Africa generally speaking it's the Chinese and I'm quite sure Chinese companies employ their own and don't need to hire Thais over in Africa.

 

Anyway, my comment was tongue in cheek and I'm not saying there are no Thais in these countries but it does seem a bit odd...
 

[RisingSun]

And what about Aids in Thailand? And dengue fever?

 

Those are seen as long time killers...so, mai pin rai, Thais prefer to live today, to die tomorrow is okay...