A rapid series of stringent health monitoring guidelines is being implemented by global aviation services following an acute respiratory viral health crisis originating on an Atlantic Ocean cruise ship. The unforeseen situation has led to a joint effort of health authorities and airline companies to track down those affected across several continents, shifting the containment efforts from the open waters to major international airports.
The recent health crisis has resulted from an outbreak of Andes Hantavirus on the MV Hondius, a scientific vessel sailing through the South Atlantic Ocean to anchor at the Canary Islands. Differentiating itself from other strains of hantaviruses, the Andes virus does not only transmit through rodents but is capable of human-to-human transmission under sustained exposure. With reports of multiple deaths and new cases surfacing across the United Kingdom, Switzerland, France, Spain, and the United States, airline companies have adjusted their health screenings to mitigate any potential airborne spread.
In light of the aforementioned concerns, the main challenge facing the aviation industry centers on the fact that some passengers who carry this rare virus might travel on commercial airlines without displaying any symptoms. As one case shows, a patient died immediately upon landing in South Africa, while another passenger showed signs of this disease after arriving at Zurich in Switzerland, following a flight route that went through the Middle East. Since this specific respiratory illness has an incubation period of several weeks, airlines have begun working together with health agencies to screen flight manifests and identify potential threats.
As the immediate response to the recent events, airline companies have taken a proactive approach that includes targeted containment and preventative health checks. All passengers associated with the cruise ship mentioned above were transferred to other locations using exclusively non-commercial flights in which crew members and medical professionals wore full-body protection suits, respirators, and chemicals to sanitize all surfaces used during the flights. After reaching their destinations, such as the Manchester Airport, all passengers were directed past arrivals facilities and into regional isolation units for thorough testing procedures.
All passengers flying internationally must pass stricter health declaration procedures in addition to airline staff receiving additional instructions regarding the identification of potential patients with respiratory and gastrointestinal problems. This includes educating flight crew members how to differentiate between normal travel fatigue and physiological symptoms that require medical assistance. Although the World Health Organisation insists that the risk faced by typical airline passengers is minimal, there is nonetheless a need to act promptly to prevent the spread of this particular virus from ever taking off in the first place.
The recent event is yet another illustration of how today’s global transportation systems allow even regional health risks to enter international transport networks. Through a combination of contact tracing and health screening at the airports, the aviation industry will seek to calm passengers’ minds while ensuring their safety. The upcoming weeks may determine whether this increased level of precautionary airline health screening will be enough to quietly terminate this unusual maritime virus threat.