|
Severe Acute
Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) |
Activities
related to outbound travelers will vary based on the extent of SARS-CoV
transmission in the United States and at the destination (Appendix
E1).
If there is little SARS-CoV transmission in the United States,
the goal is to inform travelers about the risk of SARS and appropriate
measures to reduce the risk of acquiring SARS-CoV
infection during travel.
If there is extensive SARS-CoV transmission in the United States,
then preventing the exportation of SARS-CoV will be an added objective.
Objective: Minimize outbound travelers’ risk for exposure to SARS-CoV
during travel or the risk of spreading SARS-CoV to other localities.
Basic Activities
- Issue
travel notifications (see Box).
- Provide
educational materials to travelers on measures to reduce the
risk of SARS-CoV disease.
Enhanced Activities
- If
there are locations with extensive SARS-CoV transmission where
control measures do not appear to be effective, further travel
restrictions (e.g., cancellation of flights) to those locations
may be considered (see Section VII: Roles and
Responsibilities).
- If
the level of SARS-CoV transmission in the United States presents
an increased risk for exportation, then some or all of the
following might be implemented:
- Pre-departure
screening (e.g., temperature screening, visual screening)
of outbound travelers
- Health
certifications, i.e., requiring travelers to have a medical
examination before departure, with a doctor’s
statement that they are free of SARS-CoV symptoms and have
not had close contact to a SARS-CoV patient in the past 10
days
- Stop
lists, i.e., maintaining lists of SARS cases and close contacts
at ports of departure against which travelers’ names
can be checked to prevent them from traveling
Travel Notice Definitions
CDC issues
different types of notices for international travelers. On May
20, 2004, these definitions were refined to make the announcements more
easily understood by travelers, healthcare providers, and the
general public http://www.cdc.gov/travel/outbreaks.htm#noticekey.
The definitions provided below describe both the levels of risk
for the traveler and the recommended preventive measures for each
level of risk.
Notice |
Scope1 |
Risk for travelers2 |
Preventive measures3 |
In the News |
Reports of sporadic cases |
No increased risk over baseline for travelers
observing standard recommendations |
Keep travelers informed, and reinforce standard
prevention recommendations |
Outbreak
Notice |
Outbreak in a limited geographic area or
setting |
Increased but definable risk that is limited
to specific settings |
Remind travelers about standard and enhanced
recommendations for the region |
Travel
Health Precaution |
Outbreak of greater scope affecting a larger
geographic area |
Increased risk in some settings, along with
risk for spread to other areas |
Inform travelers about specific precautions
to reduce risk during the stay and what to do before and
after travel |
Travel
Health Warning |
Evidence that outbreak is expanding outside
the area or populations initially affected |
Increased risk because of evidence of transmission
outside defined settings and/or inadequate containment measures |
In addition to the specific precautions cited
above, postpone nonessential travel |
1The term “scope” incorporates the size, magnitude, and rapidity
of spread of an outbreak.
2Risk for travelers is dependent on patterns of transmission, as well as severity
of illness.
3Preventive measures other than the standard advice for the region may be recommended
depending on the circumstances (e.g., travelers may be requested to monitor their
health for a certain period after their return, or arriving passengers may be
screened at ports of entry).
|
|
|