Flu screening at ZIA

IT is good to note that Bangladesh government has been quick to respond to early warnings issued by the WHO on swine flu which it has dubbed as 'public health emergency of international concern'. This virus capable of mutating into more dangerous strain and transmitting into humans as the growing number of victims has already proven needs surely to be guarded against.
In this context, it's only expected that our government would mount all forms of surveillance against the virus while keeping the antenna high on research information being currently pooled and analysed by the WHO to precisely determine the level of risk involved. To begin with, the government has decided to start screening inbound airport passengers. Well and good, however we must brace up to the task being fully clear in our mind as to what we are stepping into and then putting in place adequate arrangements so as to make the screening a worthwhile exercise. What we can readily conjure up is a long serpentine queue in front of the immigration desk as the health counter does the checking with gluts forming there, too. Depending on whether all the inbound flights are subjected to scrutiny, or just a select few, the congestion is likely to be that much challenging. And let's not forget that in recent times, ZIA has become something of a hub of international travel in the region, so that it requires fresh capacity building to cope with any additional but unavoidable task, such as pertaining to health screening.
Lately, there has been some welcome improvement in the immigration service at ZIA, a development that needs to be sustained by all means. That is precisely the reason why we urge the government to be structurally and technically prepared at the airport before introducing swine flu screening. The screening should scrupulously follow the standard procedures set out by the WHO, be systematic and well-spaced between flights. Otherwise, it could end up in harassment. The suspected cases would need to be quarantined, too.
As far as we know, a number of countries in Asia, Latin America and Europe have begun screening airport passengers for swine flu symptoms. We can take the cue from them, even though we don't seem quite at the frontline of the viral risk.