CDC Guidance Regarding Reporting of Suspected Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)
May 19, 2014
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued guidance regarding Middle East Respiratory Syndrome for airline crew on flights arriving to the United States. The guidance states that crew should report to CDC ill travelers (with symptoms below) arriving from countries in and near the Arabian Peninsula, including Bahrain, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, the Palestinian territories, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), and Yemen. Crew should report to CDC if the ill person:
- feels warm to the touch, gives a history of feeling feverish, or has an actual measured temperature of 100° F (37.8° C) or higher, PLUS
- has a cough or difficulty breathing.
Crew should report the ill traveler’s presence as soon as possible and before arrival by one of the following methods:
- Air Traffic Services (ATS) if in international airspace or Air Traffic Control (ATC) if in U.S. airspace. This reporting option also complies with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) reporting standard (ICAO document 4444 and Annex 9 of the Chicago Convention). ATC will notify CDC’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and the EOC will notify the appropriate CDC Quarantine Station and the local health department of jurisdiction.
- Airline’s land-based point of contact (e.g., Operations Center, Flight Control, airline station manager). Instruct the airline’s point of contact to notify CDC by contacting the:
- CDC Quarantine Station at or closest to the airport where the flight is arriving: https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/QuarantineStationContactListFull.html or
- CDC EOC (770.488.7100), which will then notify the appropriate CDC Quarantine Station.
This Eckert Seamans Aviation Blog post is intended to keep readers current on matters affecting businesses and is not intended to be legal advice. If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr ( esahr@eckertseamans.com 202-659-6622) or Drew Derco ( dderco@eckertseamans.com 202-659-6665).