City passengers say swine flu screening is lax at airports

As the number of swine flu cases increases in the country, one would expect the authorities to be on their toes. But the experiences of several Amdavadi passengers at the Mumbai airport tell a story of nonchalance and outright apathy.

Various state governments and the Centre had appointed a team of doctors at all international airports in the country to screen passengers for symptoms of flu. However, according to some passengers who landed in India from Hong Kong on June 13 the airport authorities did not do a thorough job of checking them for H1N1 (swine flu) symptoms.

Dr Paras Shah, a renowned sexologist from Ahmedabad said that instead of being extra cautious the airport authorities seemed careless.

“They were just checking the health forms and in most cases even that wasn’t done properly,” Shah said. The forms give details about the fitness of a passenger. The passengers also alleged that the authorities did not even bother to check the temperature of the passengers, one of the primary steps in ascertaining whether a person is affected by swine flu or not. Rajini Patel, another passenger  said she filled the form with a pencil. “But the officials were not bothered. This shows how committed they are in preventing the spread of the disease,” said Patel. Meanwhile, authorities at the Ahmedabad airport said blaming the officials alone is not right. “Often international passengers don’t cooperate with the doctors. They are in a rush and avoid medical check-ups,” said a source at the
airport.