Bangkok returnees to be screened for Ebola

Bhubaneswar: Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) has started screening passengers arriving from Bangkok for suspected Ebola virus after a guideline was sent to it from the ministry of health and family welfare.Bangkok is now the lone international destination operating from here. "We are carrying out thermal screening now. As per the guideline, passengers on the Bangkok flight will have to file self-declarations before arriving here regarding their past 21 days of itinerary. In that, they will have to specify if they were in some way connected with African nationals or countries," said BPIA director Prasanna Pradhan.He said upon arrival here, passengers, irrespective of symptoms, will have to undergo thermal screening. Passengers with symptoms will be segregated and sent for quarantine. "The hospitals and other agencies in this have been alerted to follow the protocol of handling suspected people," said an officer.