Pakistan's Polio & malaria: Hong Kong advises PIA to take precautionary measures

Hong Kong authorities have alleged that a malaria patient arrived in the special administrative region of China aboard a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) aircraft and advised the airline to take precautionary measures in this regard, according to sources. The authorities also instructed the PIA officials to inform them in case any of the crew members of the flight concerned had shown any signs of the disease, the sources said.

According to the sources, on Sept 16 Dr C.K. Wong of the chief port officer’s office, department of health, the government of Hong Kong, sent a letter to the Jardine Airport Services (local handling agent of PIA at the Hong Kong airport), which said: “A passenger who arrived in Hong Kong from Pakistan on Sept 6 by PIA flight PK892 was confirmed to have contracted malaria. “Mosquitoes biting the passenger would become infective and remain so for life. This will pose a risk to other passengers and crewmembers.” The letter went on to advise the airline to disinfect the aircraft concerned and take other vector control measures, if not already taken. It also stressed the need to make the crew aware of the symptoms and dangers of malaria. PIA spokesman Mashhood Tajwar could not be contacted for comments despite repeated attempts. According to the sources, malaria is among the diseases which have been wiped out from several countries. The authorities of such countries are extremely careful about the disease and restrict the entry of malaria patients because they don’t want the disease to be reintroduced in their countries. The international community is already worried about the possibility of spread of polio from Pakistan, where the crippling disease is endemic. Reports about the possibility of transmission of yet another disease from the country may prompt the international health organisations to call for a travel ban on Pakistanis. That was why Pakistani organisations like the PIA and the CAA should take precautionary measures as soon as possible, the sources warned.