After the recent reports of a case of the Chinese coronavirus in the United States and another possible in Mexico, the idea of going through an airport - especially some of those that have direct connections with the Asian country - worries anyone.
One of them, the one from Seattle, arrived a few days ago the first American who got the virus after traveling to the city of Wuhan, where this strain of coronavirus never seen was first identified and for which there is not much information yet available. This Wednesday, the Chinese authorities announced that all means of transport leaving from the epicenter of the disease were suspended.
Initially they believed that the virus was only transmitted from animals to people since the cases were limited to those who had been in a local fish market, but then they realized that it was also spread among humans, which was accompanied by a substantial escalation in the number of cases.
Even health workers who have treated a patient have become ill; an indication that it can be extremely contagious. Being a virus that attacks the airways, it can be transmitted more easily than Ebola, which is only passed when it comes into contact with body fluids.
Although scientists continue to investigate, it is presumed that like most coronaviruses that affect humans, Wuhan's is transmitted through sneezing or coughing, as well as personal contact or touching a contaminated surface. It is not clear what the incubation period is - for coronaviruses it is usually up to 14 days - nor if individuals can transmit it to others before presenting symptoms.
Spokesmen from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention monitor passengers at the airports of Chicago, Atlanta, JFK, New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. They will also redirect flights with stopovers that come from Wuhan to other cities in the United States to go through checkpoints at those airports before.
The last time something similar was done was with the Ebola epidemic in 2014, CNN, Martin Cetron, director of the global migration and quarantine division of the CDC, told CNN.
The monitoring of passengers from China includes a review of the temperature and filling out a health questionnaire. Travelers with symptoms such as fever, cough or respiratory distress will be reviewed more thoroughly. There is already a screening test that lets you know if the person has the virus or not, but the results are not immediate.
The health agency also raised the travel alert from level 1 (observation: take usual precautions) to level 2 (alert: take more precautions than usual). Level 3 that recommends avoiding non-essential trips has not yet been issued.
The CDC recommends travelers measures such as:
-Avoid contact with sick people or animals, animal markets and animal products (such as uncooked meats).
-Wash your hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or
-Use an alcohol-based sanitizer failing that.
The correct hand washing, limiting contact with sick people and other regular hygiene practices such as covering coughs or sneezing with the arm (and not with the hand) are valid recommendations for the general population, especially during this influenza season which - for the time being - represents a bigger threat to Americans than the coronavirus, Martin Cetron told CNN.
"It's not a time for people to be alarmed"
Until Wednesday morning about 540 confirmed cases were counted in China and others in Thailand, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and the United States. A total of 17 people have died. Thousands are under observation, including a potential case in Mexico, as the president reported in Wednesday morning hours.
The World Health Organization is discussing whether or not to decree an international public health emergency, something that has only happened five times in history: with h1n1 bird flu (2009), polio (2014), for Ebola (2014 ), with Zika (2016) and for an Ebola epidemic in Congo (2019).
https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1220071324405514240
In the interim, monitoring at airports has been increasing. Countries such as Singapore, the United Kingdom and others have implemented controls to detect potential cases.
“It is not a time for people to be alarmed and worry in the extreme. It is a time of vigilance and awareness, ”he insisted.
Even so, the epidemic could escalate: it coincides with the celebration of the Chinese Lunar Year which is one of the largest migratory events in the world, in which millions of people move, which increases the risk of contagion. Last year 60,000 passengers flew from Wuhan to the United States during this time.
Already several airlines such as Cathay Airlines are authorizing their flight attendants to use cap covers to protect themselves, Reuters reported.
As much as that city is already in quarantine, the threat of the virus is latent in other regions and countries, so it is not necessary to take precautions when traveling, especially in airports with direct flights to China.
Passengers can take measures to avoid getting sick such as passing a disinfectant wipe to the eating tray, seatbelt and armrests of the aircraft and avoiding touching their eyes, nose and mouth without first washing their hands.
If someone sitting very close is coughing, it is best to move away or change seats. A recent study - but limited - determined that passengers with two seats or a row away from someone coughing are up to 80% more likely to be infected than others sitting further away.
If it is believed that you may have been infected with the new type of coronavirus, whose symptoms include cough, respiratory distress, fever and even pneumonia, bronchitis or renal failure, it is advisable to immediately contact a health provider and avoid contact with other people . Antibiotics are not effective because as every virus must take its course, but there is treatment to control the symptoms, explains the World Health Organization on its website.
Edited by Eulimar Núñez.
