Health Ministry advises against non-essential Toronto travel
By Samantha Alleyne
Stabroek News
April 25, 2003
The Ministry of Health has adopted the World Health Organisation's (WHO) travel advisory by asking persons not to travel to Toronto, Canada and other areas affected by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) unless absolutely necessary.
BWIA travels from Georgetown to Toronto via Port of Spain daily while Air Transat travels to the city every Wednesday on a direct flight. Both airlines have said they would continue their schedule until further notice.
Minister of Health Dr Leslie Ramsammy last evening told Stabroek News that his ministry was taking the issue seriously and pointed out that Canada was the only country outside of Asia where deaths from the pneumonia-like virus had occurred and was one of the countries where there was much air traffic to and from Guyana.
Some fifteen persons have died from the disease in Toronto. Worldwide, 251 persons have died and 4,200 have been infected. (See story on page 4.)
A release from the ministry yesterday advised all persons entering Guyana from any of the affected countries to "immediately consult with a physician should they develop any of the symptoms of the disease."
On Wednesday WHO issued a travel advisory stating that as a result of its ongoing assessment of the SARS epidemic in Beijing and Shanxi Province, China, and in Toronto, Canada, it was recommending as a precaution, that all persons planning to travel to those destinations consider postponing all but essential travel.
Stabroek News contacted an official at the local agency for Air Transat and she said while they were unaware of WHO's new travel advisory they have had persons who have expressed concerns about the disease. She said that the airline has not put out any warning for their passengers.
The airline carries about two hundred persons to Canada and returns with around one hundred and seventy, according to the official.
While they have had no major cancellations in Guyana following the outbreak of the disease, their office in Trinidad has reported cancelled flights to Canada.
Efforts to contact BWIA's Area Manager, Carlton De Four proved to be futile.
But an article published in yesterday's Trinidad Express stated that the airline would continue to fly to Toronto even with the advisory from WHO.
The airline operates seven flights a week, down from nine, to Toronto. It stated that the airline's corporate communications director, Clint Williams had disclosed that BWIA remained in close contact with the relevant authorities on the spread of the virus, and airline flight crews had been instructed on the symptoms of SARS and the precautions needed. Williams told the Express that it was difficult to attribute any decline in travel to Toronto to fear of the disease, given the state of the aviation industry, but noted there had been a softening of the market in recent times.
Dr Ramsammy said that persons travelling from Toronto would automatically be viewed as having the risk of being infected since the disease took some twelve to thirteen days before symptoms were manifested.
He said that those persons would be issued with the green card alerting them to the disease and the signs they should look for. The persons would also go through the ministry's port health facility at the airport where they would be questioned by health officials. Questioned on if the ministry was considering testing the temperature of those persons as a quick check on their health status as was being done in other countries, the minister said that the ministry had considered the issue but had decided against it. The minister said they had also considered having airline officials and immigration officers wearing protective gear since they were the first
persons to come into contact with persons travelling from infected areas.
An airport official yesterday told Stabroek News that the airport had not implemented any of its own measures but said that the health ministry had posted up prominent signs around the airport alerting persons to the disease and the signs to look for. There are also two numbers, 226-1224 and 226-5164 which persons can call should they develop any symptoms.
Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer of the Georgetown Public Hospital, Michael Khan, said that the hospital had cleared out the Seaman's Ward at the hospital for potential victims.
He said that the necessary precautions had been taken and there were sufficient gowns and gloves available.
Acting head of the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) office in Guyana, Dr Paulo Teixeira, told Stabroek News that the organisation had been working closely with health ministries in the Caribbean to strengthen the surveillance process in the different countries. Also there was a daily exchange of information on the status of the disease.
He said that should a health ministry request technical assistance PAHO would ensure that this was provided.
On the local scene he said that their main concern was that the population should be informed about the prevalence and risk of the disease. He pointed out that while the disease could be treated it was very expensive and some poor countries would not be able to afford treatment for a large amount of persons. Dr Teixeira also said that travel between countries was the most significant factor in the spread of the disease.
In its press release the ministry encouraged local physicians to continue to be on the alert for persons meeting the case definitions for the disease and for them to report immediately by calling the telephone numbers listed at the airport.
"Patients suspected of having the illness can also be referred to the Georgetown Hospital for follow-up management," the release said.
Case definitions for SARS are high fever, one or more respiratory symptoms including coughing, shortness of breath, difficulty in breathing, close contact within ten days of the onset of symptoms with a persons who has been diagnosed with SARS and history of travel within ten days to infected areas. Persons with SARS may also have additional symptoms including headache, muscular stiffness, loss of appetite, malaise, confusion, rash and diarrhoea.
Close contact means having cared for, having lived with, or having had direct contact with respiratory secretions and body fluids of persons with SARS.
