Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2008/06/02/daily30.html
Wednesday, June 4, 2008 - 2:51 PM HAST
Hawaii to screen international travelers for flu-like illnesses
Pacific Business News (Honolulu)
The Hawaii Department of Health announced Wednesday that the state will implement a voluntary checkpoint screening process for international visitors to detect flu-like illness at Honolulu International Airport.
The program will span a one-year period and was made possible through a cooperative agreement between the Hawaii Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the amount of $289,000, the department said.
The Department of Health will collaborate with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, CDC, the Hawaii Department of Transportation and Hawaiian Airlines, the health department said.
"During [severe acute respiratory syndrome] other countries screened for flu-like illness at airports," said Chiyome Fukino, director of the Health Department, in a statement. "It makes sense for the U.S. to investigate this strategy, given the very real concerns for a potential influenza pandemic. Being a global travel destination, Hawaii is a good place to start. We hope to share what we learn here with the rest of the nation."
The screening process will include a questionnaire, which includes basic demographic information, recent travel history and illness history. Travelers who feel feverish will be asked to go through a voluntary checkpoint process. Those passengers will then be checked for illness. If they have a fever, the traveler will be tested voluntarily for the flu.
The program builds upon the illness surveillance procedures that the Department of Health began at Honolulu International Airport in November 2005, which was designed to detect influenza-like illnesses and identify infection by new flu strains, including avian flu.
Link to original thread:
http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=70400
Wednesday, June 4, 2008 - 2:51 PM HAST
Hawaii to screen international travelers for flu-like illnesses
Pacific Business News (Honolulu)
The Hawaii Department of Health announced Wednesday that the state will implement a voluntary checkpoint screening process for international visitors to detect flu-like illness at Honolulu International Airport.
The program will span a one-year period and was made possible through a cooperative agreement between the Hawaii Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the amount of $289,000, the department said.
The Department of Health will collaborate with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, CDC, the Hawaii Department of Transportation and Hawaiian Airlines, the health department said.
"During [severe acute respiratory syndrome] other countries screened for flu-like illness at airports," said Chiyome Fukino, director of the Health Department, in a statement. "It makes sense for the U.S. to investigate this strategy, given the very real concerns for a potential influenza pandemic. Being a global travel destination, Hawaii is a good place to start. We hope to share what we learn here with the rest of the nation."
The screening process will include a questionnaire, which includes basic demographic information, recent travel history and illness history. Travelers who feel feverish will be asked to go through a voluntary checkpoint process. Those passengers will then be checked for illness. If they have a fever, the traveler will be tested voluntarily for the flu.
The program builds upon the illness surveillance procedures that the Department of Health began at Honolulu International Airport in November 2005, which was designed to detect influenza-like illnesses and identify infection by new flu strains, including avian flu.
Link to original thread:
http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=70400
