What is risk of catching Ebola on a plane?

(CNN) - Deadly diseases like Ebola are only a plane ride away. In today's interconnected world, linked by transoceanic flights, one infected person can trigger a domino effect that pays no attention to borders.

"The concern that people are going to get on these flights and fly from West Africa, where these cases are, to anywhere in the world is ... a real possibility," said Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent.


"I think for a long time people didn't think that that was going to happen because Ebola was sort of relegated to very remote areas of Africa. Things have changed with our globalized world."

Ebola patient on West African flights

Earlier this month, a Liberian government official who had Ebola symptoms collapsed after getting off his flight in Lagos, Nigeria on July 20. Patrick Sawyer, 40, died five days later. He had been taking care care of his Ebola-stricken sister, in Liberia, although he didn't know she had the disease, his wife told CNN.

Health workers identified 59 people who came in contact with him including 15 in the airport staff and 44 from the hospital. He had traveled by plane via Lomé, Togo and Accra, Ghana. His case sparked concerns that the virus could disperse through air travel.

At this point, the World Health Organization does not recommend any travel or trade restrictions on Guinea, Liberia, or Sierra Leone.

The WHO, the International Civil Aviation Organzation (ICAO) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) have been coordinating efforts to fight the spread of the disease. According to an ICAO statement, they are considering passenger screenings: "The Organization remains in contact with the WHO on potential efforts which may be required to facilitate repatriation flights, as well as matters relating to air ambulance services in the affected areas."

Can plane passengers become infected?

While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) acknowledges it's possible a person infected with Ebola in West Africa could get on a plane and arrive in another country like the United States, the chances of the virus spreading during the journey are low.

Source: CNN

Posted in: Ebola