Ebola warning: CDC tells airlines to 'treat all body fluids as infectious'

The Washington Examiner ^ | September 21, 2014 | Paul Bedard

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, increasing their warnings on Ebola, is advising airlines and jet staff to treat all body fluids as infectious, even on domestic flights.

“Treat all body fluids as though they are infectious,” said the latest CDC update to airlines. The update notes that if Ebola is suspected, aircraft can be cleaned mid-flight. The update is apparently meant to stress the rights airlines have to block anyone who appears "ill" from boarding.

The agency this week suggested that the Ebola crisis could strike 500,000 by the end of January. Others note that some 200,000 Africans from nations hit by the deadly virus have visas to travel to the United States.

The CDC is getting out in front of what could be a problem in the United States if somebody with the virus slips through security checkpoints overseas and arrives in America. In addition to the new precautions to airlines, the CDC has also provided hospitals and health centers with special protocols on handling people suspected of having Ebola.

Below is the updated CDC airline advisory:

Interim Guidance about Ebola Infection for Airline Crews, Cleaning Personnel, and Cargo Personnel

Updated September 19, 2014

Purpose: To give information to airlines on stopping ill travelers from boarding, managing and reporting onboard sick travelers, protecting crew and passengers from infection, and cleaning the plane and disinfecting contaminated areas.

Key Points:

-- A U.S. Department of Transportation rule permits airlines to deny boarding to air travelers with serious contagious diseases that could spread during flight, including travelers with possible Ebola symptoms. This rule applies to all flights of U.S. airlines, and to direct flights (no change of planes) to or from the United States by foreign airlines.

-- Cabin crew should follow routine infection control precautions for onboard sick travelers. If in-flight cleaning is needed, cabin crew should follow routine airline procedures using personal protective equipment available in the Universal Precautions Kit. If a traveler is confirmed to have had infectious Ebola on a flight, CDC will conduct an investigation to assess risk and inform passengers and crew of possible exposure.

-- Hand hygiene and other routine infection control measures should be followed.

-- Treat all body fluids as though they are infectious.

[jonrick46]

Don’t use the airplane toilet.

[exDemMom]

Treat all body fluids as though they are infectious.

I would hope that is standard procedure on airlines all the time. You don't need an outbreak of Ebola to have infectious bodily fluids; if someone is vomiting and having diarrhea, I'll assume infectivity unless proven otherwise. Although allergies and food poisoning can cause those symptoms without being infectious, why take any chances?

[NonValueAdded]

So General Ripper was right???

[Old Yeller]

I have allegories and when they are bad, I cough and sneeze a lot. Flying with this mob in power would be an ordeal.

That could be symbolic of a more worse condition.

[daniel1212]

If they treated HIV, and thus those who are responsible for 79% of new HIV infections, more like Ebola then we would not have over half a million Americans and 25+ mil worldwide dead due to it.

[roadcat]

Exactly what type of cleaner do they use on the cloth seats?

I don't know. I saw a report on the news last week mentioning differences between airlines, in how fastidious they are in cleaning planes between flights. United is sloppy. I'll have to ask someone I know working at United and see what they say. Funny thing is that people wipe down shopping carts at the supermarket with anti-bacterial wipes, but give no thought to just plunking themselves down in an airline seat a stranger recently vacated - and touch everything that stranger had touched. I mean, do you know if that stranger washed their hands after hitting the toilet? Or whether that stranger had the sniffles?

[VerySadAmerican]

Speaking of grocery carts. I always pay special close attention to the place where the toddler’s legs sit. I get sick thinking about the diapers that were in my cart a little while ago.