Thailand’s Civil Aviation Authority will conduct thorough screening for all flights arriving from India’s West Bengal, a high-risk region for the Nipah virus, starting at 00:00 local time on Monday. The screening measures will be adjusted based on the evolving situation, as stated in an announcement released by the authority on Sunday. Airlines are currently required to perform initial health checks on passengers before departure, with further testing for symptomatic individuals and adherence to health guidelines during the flight.
Upon reaching Thailand, all travelers will undergo temperature checks and must complete a health declaration form. Dedicated screening stations have been established in the jet bridge areas of specific airports. Direct flights between Kolkata in West Bengal and major Thai airports like Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, and Phuket are already subject to these screening procedures.
Thai authorities confirmed that there have been no reported cases of the Nipah virus in Thailand so far. The virus, which primarily affects the lungs and brain, presents symptoms such as fever, headache, drowsiness, confusion, and coma, with a mortality rate of over 40% among infected individuals. The Nipah virus is zoonotic, transmitted from animals to humans, and can also spread through contaminated food or direct human-to-human contact.
Nipah virus infections range from asymptomatic cases to severe respiratory illness and fatal encephalitis in humans. The virus can also cause significant economic losses for farmers by affecting animals like pigs. While Nipah virus outbreaks have been limited in Asia, the wide range of susceptible animals and severe impact on human health make it a significant public health issue. The virus was first identified in 1999 during an outbreak among pig farmers in Malaysia, with no new outbreaks reported in the country since then.
