to think that testing for EBOLA should be done before entering this country!?

[SuggestmeaUsername]

I think that rather than/as well as testing for EBOLA when passengers arrive in the UK, we should be testing before they even get on the plane in the country of origin for those travelling from Sierra Leonne etc. In fact I would prefer we didnt actually let anyone from the main EBOLA hit countries come to this country. any British people there coming back should go into Quarantine for a period of time. What does everyone else think?

Huh

Testing at point of departure has been in place since August.

Has it Angua?

I have the controversial view of we are an island so shut the borders until it's cleared

There is no reason it should enter the uk it has no natural path here except via an infected person

er they are already testing at points of departure in as much as anyone can .

No-one from Liberia, Sierra Leone or Guinea can fly here directly either.

Possibly you need to get a bit more up to date with your information?

There's a three week incubation period. You can't randomly test for it. Anybody could slip through because they'll still be feeling well in spite of being infected.

You'd need to quarantine people for three weeks to be absolutely sure and that isn't going to happen.

'Testing' at either border is pretty useless unless someone's at the point of throwing up and is pretty sick.

Passengers leaving those countries are already screened on departure. Preventing people coming here from there is impossible - even if you 'shut' legitimate travel, there are plenty of clandestine opportunities.

And how do the UK government achieve this?

Yes.

And about 77 people have been denied boarding (but all were shown idc to have malaria or some other infection, not ebola (CDC stats)).

Of the thousands who passed the screening, only one has been shown to have been asymptomtic during incubation.

I think we have to brace ourselves for there being a handful of cases here in UK which will have slipped through the net. But I'm a little reassured that the isolation systems already in place, and rehearsed procedures for nursing seem pretty good.

My husband returned recently from Cote d'Ivoire. He could have been in contact with travellers from Guinea or Liberia (both bordering his country) He passed through Paris and Amsterdam. Nobody mentioned Ebola, and there were no tests or checks. But I think any useful tests would take far too long for results to be available. People would have to be detained in quarantine.

West Africans are quite mobile in their travels across borders which are often in the bush and it's v hard to control, as CEDEAO (9 countries who allow passage with no passports) mean people wander from one country to the other at will. You'd have to test all W Africans and it'd be nigh on impossible.
For example, 2 years ago I came back to UK from Accra on a plane with 200 Africans. There are several flights a day from eg Dakar, Banjul, Accra, Abidjan, Ouagadougou etc. Add all these W Africans together (not to mention all the nursing nuns, health volunteers, tourists and cabin crews etc you see on these flights) and you have thousands and thousands entering Gatwick/Heathrow at a time. Any one of them could be carrying the virus.

mn ebola section where you can find many reasoned arguments why even if this was ethical, why it wouldnt work.

There is an Ebola topic.

Its not as if people come into this country from all over the place and we're not aware of it, is it?!

Just to point something out: there is a big difference between testing and screening. Testing gives a definitive answer about the virus's presence and takes a while - far too long to be practicable in the context of international travel.

Screening looks for symptoms that might be Ebola, but could also be something else - most commonly, a raised temperature. Because of the long incubation period, and the fact that the symptoms could have a ton of causes, it's far from reliable.

I should also point out that those calling for there to be no flights to and from affected countries are advocating a policy that is utterly inhumane in its economic and political effects, and likely to make the crisis in Africa far, far worse and more dangerous.

Dear god there's a topic? And how much of it is dedicated to concern for the areas affected?

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/ebola

I think you should take it to the ebola topic. Also educate yourself and try not to sound inane.

Have a read Pootle and see for yourself. A fair bit is the short answer :)

less of the insulting comments grocklebox. the point of mumsnet is to discuss things that concern us and to learn from one another when some know more than others about different things. I am not an expert on Ebola but from what I have heard on the news, it has made me very worried and I expect I reflect the concerns that many people up and down the country have. I think my concerns are reasonable and dont expect insulting, blunt and patronising comments from anyone here.

Idris ELBA's dad is from SierRa leonne OP.

tHE HoRRa

Would you make an exception for him if he wanted to go and visit his nan?

To be honest, I'd chance a month's isolation with him after stripping him down.

Quite agree, OP.

mmmm Idris Elba

but it's not funny see this poor bastard for example

You can screen for symptoms such as a fever. You cannot actually test until there is a large enough viral load in the blood, and by then they are symptomatic anyway. And there's no 'instant' blood test, so in effect, what you are asking for is thousands of people being detained for days, whilst they wait for a blood test result. And that's only if they're already showing signs of illness, which could apply to many, many other illnesses.

It simply can't work.

The Ebola Topic is very informative, and has some very sane and knowledgeable posters on it. Meanwhile, the best thing anyone can do is donate - there are links in the topic, and if you're so inclined, pray for the people caught up in this :(

the best thing anyone can do is donate

Very true stratter5.

And I hope that any donations made to MSF, which seems to be the charity of choice, will be used for Ebola victims, but may also be diverted for the victims of bog standard diseases such as malnutrition, malaria, diseases of contaminated water such as cholera or bilharzia or AIDs, TB...

I'm quite sure MSF and other charities will use any extra funds wisely.

But meanwhile you lot carry on getting worked up about Ebola.