In order to reduce the chances of Ebola invasion, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has requested relevant agencies and airlines to distribute “Ebola Declaration Cards” onboard on incoming flights from Europe and Dubai starting from today (October 21). Passengers are asked to fill in the form truthfully. 

In view of the Ebola pandemic, the CDC has continued its reinforced quarantine measures in international airports. The CDC has worked with the Ministry of Transportation and Communications and the airlines, requesting onboard broadcast to be made on all incoming flights to remind passengers who had traveled to Ebola-affected areas within the past 21 days to report to CDC’s quarantine officers when they disembark. Moreover, from today (October 21) onwards, the “Ebola Declaration Card” (or the Blue Card) is given off, requiring passengers on flights from Europe and Dubai to declare their travel history to Ebola-affected areas (Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone) within the past 21 days. Incoming visitors who have traveled to these areas will be assessed and given health education by quarantine officers, and follow-up health care measures will be taken. In addition, passport check officers of the National Immigration Agency shall also inform CDC’s airport quarantine officers immediately when they come across visitors who are citizens of the Ebola-affected countries, asking the officers to be present and to perform necessary quarantine procedures. 

Furthermore, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced yesterday that no new case of Ebola infection had been found in Nigeria during the 42-day observation period, and so the epidemic in Nigeria was declared ended. The CDC thus downgraded from today onwards the Travel Health Notice for Nigeria to Level 1: Watch. Since there have been frequent exchanges between Taiwan and Nigeria, citizens of Taiwan are reminded to maintain alertness. Nigeria’s epidemic started on July 20 when one imported case from Liberia was confirmed, and thereafter subsequent outbursts emerged in Lagos and Port Harcourt of the country. Nigeria has a cumulative total of 20 cases, with 8 deaths. Senegal also reported one imported case from Guinea on August 29 this year; the patient recovered after receiving treatment, and the country has a cumulative total of one case, with no death. Nigeria and Senegal have declared an end to the epidemic, but the epidemic in Western Africa (Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone) has not seen leveling-off trend. The geographical locations of Nigeria and Senegal make them susceptible to the outbursts in neighboring countries, and therefore, alertness should be maintained. 

The CDC urged citizens traveling to Ebola-affected areas to avoid visiting or having contact with patients in hospitals. Independent health monitoring should be conducted for the 21 days after returning to Taiwan. If symptoms of discomfort such as fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and skin rashes occur, please call the domestic toll-free disease prevention hotline at 1922 (or 0800-001922), and take the initiative to inform the doctor of your travel history and contact history when consulting a doctor. When doctors come across patients returning from Western African countries, please make sure to inquire about their travel history, contact history, occupation, family or work environment, etc. If a suspected case is found, the patient should be immediately hospitalized and treated in isolation. Since the disease has no distinctive symptom in the initial stage, medical and nursing personnel should stay alert and wear standard protective gears when taking care of patients, and infection control measures should be implemented, including washing hands, maintaining health of respiratory tract, avoiding spatter of body fluids, etc. Relevant information can be found on the Ebola virus hemorrhagic fever area of the CDC website (http://www.cdc.gov.tw) or by calling the domestic toll-free disease prevention hotline at 1922 (or 0800-001922).