Abstract

BackgroundAmidst an Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic of unprecedented magnitude in west Africa, concerns about the risk of importing EVD led to the introduction of programs for the screening and monitoring of travellers in a number of countries, including Australia. Emerging reports indicate that these programs are feasible to implement, however rigorous evaluations are not yet available. We aimed to evaluate the program of screening and monitoring travellers in New South Wales.MethodsWe conducted a mixed methods study to evaluate the program of screening and monitoring travellers in New South Wales. We extracted quantitative data from the Notifiable Conditions Information Management System database and obtained qualitative data from two separate surveys of public health staff and arrivals, conducted by phone.ResultsBetween 1 October 2014 and 13 April 2015, public health staff assessed a total of 122 out of 123 travellers. Six people (5%) developed symptoms compatible with EVD and required further assessment. None developed EVD. Aid workers required lower levels of support compared to other travellers. Many travellers experienced stigmatisation. Public health staff were successful in supporting travellers to recognise and manage symptoms.ConclusionWe recommend that programs for monitoring travellers should be tailored to the needs of different populations and include specific strategies to remediate stigmatisation.

Highlights

  • Amidst an Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic of unprecedented magnitude in west Africa, concerns about the risk of importing EVD led to the introduction of programs for the screening and monitoring of travellers in a number of countries, including Australia

  • During the Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic of unprecedented magnitude in West Africa, concerns of the risk of importation of EVD led a number of countries to introduce entry screening and monitoring of travellers from EVD affected areas; these countries included United Kingdom (UK) [1], United States of America (US) [2, 3], Japan [4], Israel [5], and Australia

  • We used three mechanisms to identify travellers who had visited an EVD affected area within the 21 days preceding their arrival in New South Wales (NSW): 1) entry screening at airports and ports, 2) lists of returning aid workers from aid organisations that had recruited them and, 3) lists of visas granted by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection to nationals from the three EVD affected countries

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Summary

Introduction

Amidst an Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic of unprecedented magnitude in west Africa, concerns about the risk of importing EVD led to the introduction of programs for the screening and monitoring of travellers in a number of countries, including Australia. During the Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic of unprecedented magnitude in West Africa, concerns of the risk of importation of EVD led a number of countries to introduce entry screening and monitoring of travellers from EVD affected areas; these countries included United Kingdom (UK) [1], United States of America (US) [2, 3], Japan [4], Israel [5], and Australia. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends entry screening and follow-up monitoring for travellers from EVD affected countries, regardless of whether they had known contact with an EVD case because, “travellers from countries with widespread transmission or uncertain control measures may be unaware of their exposure to individuals with symptomatic Ebola infection” [3]

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