Verify travellers’ phone numbers to help trace Ebola cases – Prof Amuasi

Prof John Amuasi, Leader of Global Health at the KCCR, has urged Ghana to verify travellers’ phone numbers to help authorities trace them if they develop Ebola symptoms after arrival.

Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on Monday, he said accurate passenger information should be central to the country’s preparedness. Airport temperature checks alone would offer limited protection.

“So for me, the single most important thing is being able to collect as accurate data as possible on every single person who comes off the plane in this country, making sure that the phone numbers they submit are accurate and finding a way of verifying it.”

His call comes amid imported Ebola cases in Nigeria and Kenya. Nigeria confirmed a case in Abuja on October 20 in a woman who had travelled from Uganda.

According to Nigeria’s disease control agency, she arrived on October 3 and developed symptoms four days later.

Kenya had recorded nine cases by October 20, according to the World Health Organisation. Its first patient travelled from DR Congo through Uganda. The eight additional cases were known contacts of that patient.

Prof Amuasi said screening passengers for visible illness would miss people who had not yet developed symptoms.

“The point I was making is that nobody is going to be coming off an aeroplane or even jumping on an aeroplane when they are visibly sick with signs and symptoms of Ebola, and therefore your ability to catch it when someone is coming off a plane is really limited.”

He questioned how much reassurance routine airport measures should provide.

“Temperature checks, use of alcohol and rubs, all these things are nice. They give people some level of confidence, but the reality is that they are not going to catch Ebola cases for you.”

He said testing was needed. However, screening every arriving traveller with a PCR test was not feasible.

“We can't be doing PCR tests for everyone coming in.”

He, therefore, called for detailed arrival records, a way to locate travellers when necessary, and clear instructions on reporting symptoms.

Travellers should know which designated facilities to visit and which telephone lines to use if they become unwell, he said.

For Prof Amuasi, educating arriving passengers and ensuring they can be reached must be priorities in Ghana’s Ebola preparedness.