Lebanon faces high Ebola risk: health minister

Lebanon faces high Ebola risk: health minister
Oct. 20, 2014
The Daily Star

 BEIRUT: Lebanese business people who travel to West Africa put Lebanon at a high risk for Ebola, Health Minister Wael Abu Faour said Monday, announcing a set of measures to prevent the disease from entering the country.
Due to the large number of Lebanese expatriates in “infected countries,” Lebanon should be exceptionally cautious, Abu Faour told reporters at a news conference.
“Lebanon receives four flights from Morocco every week, one daily flight from Ethiopia… and three weekly MEA flights from Nigeria,” the minister added.
The announcement came hours after the World Health Organization declared Nigeria free of Ebola after making it 42 days (twice the disease’s incubation period) without any new cases. The country had previously reported 20 cases of Ebola.
He noted that thousands of Lebanese businessmen, workers and their families live and work in West Africa where the disease is most common.
But the minister said a number of measures had been taken to prevent the disease from entering Lebanon by working with embassies, airports and hospitals.
“We have contacted Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil and requested that Lebanon’s embassies in infected countries test visa applicants for Ebola,” Abu Faour explained.
Similar measures will be taken with the administrations of ports, which will be responsible for notifying the ministry whenever a ship coming from a West African country heads for Lebanon.
As for the on-flight measures, travelers who come from Ebola-infected countries or who have a layover in an infected country will have to fill out an application to reveal whether they have been experiencing any early Ebola symptoms.
If such symptoms do not exist, the travelers will remain in contact with Health Ministry staff who will follow up with them in case such symptoms develop after reaching Lebanese soil.
On the other hand, if the passenger reports symptoms, they would be tested at the airport, Abu Faour said. Those with Ebola will be quarantined at the airport until being transferred to Rafik Hariri Hospital in Beirut.
The hospital has been equipped with a quarantine facility for Ebola carriers, Abu Faour explained, and the American University of Beirut’s Medial Center is preparing to announce a similar unit soon.
For other hospitals with more than 100 beds, he added, all of them must install quarantine units within three weeks.
“It is not that we have a choice,” he said. “The safety of the Lebanese people is at stake.”
The medical teams at all hospitals will receive training on the symptoms of the virus and on how to deal with Ebola-infected individuals. Abu Faour said the medical teams of south Lebanon had already received training Sunday and those of Beirut and Mount Lebanon would attend a training session Tuesday.
In parallel to the technical measures, the ministry has been taking steps to raise public awareness, he added.
“We have been distributing an enormous number of flyers to raise the awareness of airport travelers,” he said. “But the media also has a great role in raising awareness by giving the subject more importance in their coverage.”