Airport Alert! Passengers arriving from 12 countries are being thoroughly examined.

The M virus, which has been declared an international public health emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO) due to its rapid spread and resulting deaths, is particularly prevalent in the Democratic Republic of Congo and has also been seen in Burundi, Central African Republic, Congo, Cameroon, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Kenya, Ivory Coast, and South Africa in Africa.

The Turkish Border and Coastal Health General Directorate has taken some precautions against the virus at Istanbul Airport. Flights from the Democratic Republic of Congo and the surrounding 11 countries where the disease is prevalent, as well as passengers entering Turkey, are closely monitored.

Dr. Aykut Yener Kavak, the Chief Physician of Istanbul Airport, who answered questions about the measures taken at the airport, said that they started monitoring flights after the WHO declared the disease a global emergency.

"WE QUESTION WHETHER THERE IS A RASHY, FEVERISH PASSENGER"

Kavak emphasized that there is a health team working 24/7 at Istanbul Airport and that all inspections are carried out meticulously. He stated, "We go up to the door of the planes coming from the Democratic Republic of Congo and question them. We inquire whether there is a passenger with any illness, rash, or fever. In addition, we track the flights of the 11 surrounding countries online. If there is any suspicious situation, necessary checks are carried out on these planes. So far, we have not come across any cases of monkeypox at Istanbul Airport. Occasionally, we have had suspected passengers who were thought to be possible cases, and we examined these passengers. Since we did not think any of these passengers had monkeypox, we allowed them to continue their travels."

"WE KEEP SUSPECTED CASES IN ISOLATION AREAS"

Kavak stated that the most important criterion in diagnosis is a rash. He said, "We question their history. Have they traveled from that region or have they been in that region before? Is there any sign of fever or infection? Swelling of the lymph nodes is also a symptom of this disease. We keep these types of suspected cases in our isolation areas and then our health teams examine them."

Kavak stated that patients with symptoms in this regard will be referred to a previously designated hospital by the health teams if there is suspicion. He also mentioned that they receive intense questions from the field staff regarding the issue and said that they provided information about the disease at a meeting held at Istanbul Airport with the participation of all aviation stakeholders.

"IT DOES NOT SPREAD THROUGH RESPIRATORY ROUTE, SO WE ARE A BIT MORE RELAXED"

Kavak pointed out that according to scientific data, there is currently no possibility of the disease turning into an epidemic and used the following statements:

"The World Health Organization has already announced this. We are a bit more relaxed because it does not spread through the respiratory route. The most important way to protect oneself is to avoid close contact and not to touch people with such lesions with bare hands. It has been published that those with weakened immune systems are at risk. Cases recover spontaneously within 2 to 4 weeks. Prof. Dr. Ateş Kara mentioned at the meeting that the smallpox vaccine is 95% protective. There is also a monkeypox vaccine in that region. We hear that vaccination is accelerating in that region."

Kavak stated that there is no obligation to wear masks or gloves at the airport and on planes and said that the claims made on social media regarding this issue are baseless. He only advised the cleaning staff to use gloves in places like toilets. He said, "We ask airline personnel to be careful with passengers when boarding the plane. If there is a passenger with such a problem, we ask them to inform local authorities. If there is a patient with similar symptoms during the journey, we request them to inform the air traffic control tower. We ask airport personnel to inform us when they see patients with lesions."