Temperature screening for Mpox begins at Dhaka airport

Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) has started screening the temperatures of the arriving passengers in view of the global public health alert on Mpox issued by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Group Captain Kamrul Islam, executive director of the airport, said the authority is screening arrival passengers with the ‘Thermal scanner archway’ and if required, passengers with symptoms will be sent to Kurmitola General Hospital, Infectious Disease Hospital (IDH) and Kuwait Maitree Hospital.

The airport authorities on Friday held a meeting amid WHO’s global public health alert on Mpox, , a press release said on Saturday.

Officials of Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), Communicable Disease Control (CDC), a unit of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), airport health department and airlines joined the meeting.

Decisions were made in the meeting so that the concern stakeholders would remain alert and take responsibility in this situation to tackle the passengers with the Mpox symptoms.

The airport’s health department team has already established the setup to deal with the passengers with symptoms. It is providing leaflets and arrival health desks are being manned by doctors 24/7.
Besides, passengers are requested to call 10655 in case of any symptoms developing within 21 days of arrival.

CDC representatives have taken several protective measures such as avoiding close contact with people with suspected or confirmed monkeypox, wearing medical masks, avoiding skin-to-skin contact and using disposable gloves and washing hands regularly with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub.

According to WHO, common symptoms of Mpox are — skin rash or mucosal lesions which can last 2–4 weeks accompanied by fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy, and swollen lymph nodes.