CONVERGENCE NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2016

Inspiration
KEEPING
ILLNESSES
AT BAY!
Are you feeling a little under the weather while waiting for your
flight or upon landing after a seven-hour flight? If yes, be in the
know of the health facilities made available by Malaysia Airports.
There has been a spike in the number of cases involving
communicable and infectious diseases in the country. However,
measures to curb and prevent an outbreak has been ongoing
vigorously and as an airport community, Malaysia Airports is
keen on ensuring the country’s main entry and exit points do
not contribute to a possibly growing statistic.
In an exclusive interview with Convergence, KL International
Airport (KLIA) Health Officer Dr Harishah Talib shares the
procedures, measures and facilities made available at three
major airports namely KLIA, klia2 and the Sultan Abdul Aziz
Shah Airport or better known as Subang Airport to stamp out
and control any infectious diseases.
HOW DOES THE KLIA HEALTH OFFICE
CONTROL INFECTIOUS DISEASES FROM
ARRIVING AND DEPARTING PASSENGERS?
First and foremost, the symptoms of an infectious disease
need to be identified. At the airports, we will be notified of
this through five ways. One such method is via an airline
Dr Harishah Talib
cabin crew that informs the KLIA Health Office through the
Airport Operations Call Centre (AOCC) of a suspected
infection. Menara Clinic, a privately-run clinic at KLIA, will
also notify us if there are passengers showing signs of a
communicable disease.
The Immigration Department also plays a role apart from
thermal scanners placed at these airports. Thermal scanners
pick up on abnormal body temperatures while the Immigration
Department refers travellers from affected countries to
the Health Office. Finally, the Health Office is informed by
passengers themselves
who voluntarily seek a
health inspection.
Once an initial
examination has been
conducted by the
Health Office, if there
are no risks involved, the
passenger is free to go.
If there are symptoms of
an infectious disease
such as Zika virus,
Middle East Respiratory
Syndrome Corona virus
(MERS-COV), influenza
or ebola, we will conduct
a thorough examination.
If symptoms persist or
worsen, the passenger will be transferred to the nearest
hospital under the Health Ministry for further treatment.
If the symptoms do not manifest during the examination, a
health alert card is issued to the passenger. If symptoms occur
later, the passenger is required to submit the health alert card
issued by the KLIA Health Office to the respective clinic
or hospital.
For passengers from yellow fever affected countries, they are
required to produce a valid yellow fever certificate. Failure to
do so will result in a quarantine of not more than six days.
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