Passengers arriving to Cairo Airport from Sudan will undergo a medical check-up to ensure that they are not infected by cholera, reported Egyptian officials sources have said.
The decision came following an increase in the number of infected cases in Sudan.
The Head of Airport Quarantine Medhat Qandil at Cairo International Airport said in a statement on Wednesday that they had started screening Sudanese passengers for cholera under instructions of the World Health Organisation (WHO) following outbreaks of the epidemic in some areas of Sudan.
“The number of doctors and health monitors in arrival halls has increased to monitor the flights and examine passengers coming from infected areas,” Qandil added.
Read: Cholera outbreak kills 1,310 Yemenis since April
He pointed out that the airport authority has agreed with the airlines that they be “immediately” informed of any suspected cases during the flights, adding that any suspected cholera cases would be isolated and sent to hospital.
Details of all the Sudanese passengers, he stressed, would be recorded for regular monitoring by Egyptian health authorities, even if they do not show symptoms of the disease.
The Sudanese government has not officially declared a cholera outbreak, instead reporting cases of “acute watery diarrhoea”, according to WHO.
Similar measures are being carried out in Cairo airport for passengers arriving from Yemen due to a rapidly spreading epidemic which was said to have infected over 200,000 people.
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