The Pilgrims Who Have Return Homeland Need To Have Medical Check Up To Prevent Ebola
The Pilgrims Who Have Return Homeland Need To Have Medical Check Up To Prevent Ebola
In efforts of preventing the spread of Ebola disease in Indonesia, pilgrims from Indonesia who would return back from Mecca need to do medical checkup.
General Director of Disease Control and Healthy Environment (PP and PL) of Ministry of Health, Prof. dr Tjandra Yoga Aditama wrote in his letter, on Wednesday (15/10) morning, that pilgrims who travel long distance are vulnerable in getting infected by Ebola disease as happened in Spain and United States, where those who infected by the disease have never been to Africa but got infected by their patients in Spain and United States.
These cases warn us that in such countries with advance personal protection equipment, the Ebola disease still could infected paramedics there. Therefore, we must cautious with the spread of Ebola disease through our pilgrims, said Prof. Tjandra.
According to Prof. Tjandra, when Ebola infected a country, community health improvement have to be carry out immediately to prevent it from spreading widely as what happened in Africa. There are five steps in community health improvement associated with Ebola disease;
- Treatment for Ebola patient with intensive and maximum isolation
- Trace their contacts, as usually dozens contacts would be found in every one case
- Treatment for contacts found, start from monitor their temperature periodically and if necessary quarantine in different levels.
- Treatment in their environment
- Socialization the Risk, so community would understand and participate in the efforts of tackling Ebola disease from spread widely.
Related to MERS CoV respiratory virus that resulted in many casualties in Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, Prof. Tjandra Yoga Aditama said almost one million Asian (Indonesian and other Asian countries) are currently in Saudi Arabia, and have start to come back home, those needed to be monitored.
He reminds that Ebola infects through direct contact with body liquids of patient, while MERS CoV could infects through the air. It also easily infects through international flights, explains Prof. Tjandra.
In addition, there are five preventive steps in tackling MERS CoV from getting in;
- Medical checkup before leave Saudi Arabia
- Medical treatment on plane by a doctor, if found an infected case then it immediately carried out the radio practique with the arrival airport and the airplane should stops at remote area
- Walk in through Thermal Scanner soon after landing
- Paramedics should stand by at the arrival airport and at the Hajj accommodation where pilgrims would collects their belongings
- Each pilgrims would get K3JH, a card used for monitoring their health for 3 weeks post arrival at homeland.
Prof Tjandra Yoga Aditama grateful that there is no MERS CoV and Ebola cases reported related to the arrival of Indonesian pilgrims until now. (ES)(Ifp)
