Passengers alighting at the Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) will be tested for swine flu.

With the flu reaching alarming proportions in many countries, the state health department has decided to set up a medical centre at BIA to test passengers coming into the city from the affected countries. The process to set up the centre will commence on Wednesday.

Every passenger will have to give an individual health declaration at the centre, which will provide 24 hours service. This will be done before the passengers go in for immigration. Every airline will be given printed formats (check list), as provided by the WHO. Passenger, while on board, will have to fill the formats and submit them to BIA authorities on landing.

Director of health and family welfare services Dr Usha Vasunkar told TOI that the department held a meeting on Tuesday on steps to be taken to tackle the situation.

The health department will depute 10 medical officers and paramedical staff to the medical centre at the airport. There will also be two medical officers from the airport. The medical officers and other paramedical staff will be provided with special facial masks and surgical gloves. They will also take other precautionary measures. Medicines and apparatus required for the functioning of the clinic would also be provided.

Dr Vasunkar said discussions were held on the occurrence of ‘swine flu’ in countries like Mexico, the USA, Canada, New Zealand and European countries like UK and France, where it has reached endemic proportions causing human deaths. WHO has alerted countries to take appropriate action to check its spread.

Isolation wards will be kept ready at Devanahalli Hospital, Yelahanka Hospital, E D Hospital, and Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases.

Source: TNN