Airport Screening For Viruses Misses Half Of Infected Travelers
Saturday, February 28, 2015 - 15:30
in Health & Medicine
In the past decade, the H1N1 virus and Ebola are just two of the diseases whose spread was spurred by international airline travel. Screening passengers at airports, therefore, could be one key method for slowing the global spread of infectious diseases. A team lead by UCLA researchers has found that airport screening misses at least half of infected travelers but the scientists say that rate could be improved. Their research was published in eLife. The life scientists used a mathematical model to analyze screening for six viruses: the SARS coronavirus, the Ebola virus, the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, the Marburg virus, Influenza H1N1 and Influenza H7N9. read more