Norma Nery
Reporter Agência Brasil

Rio – Paulo Magalhães, a member of the Aerospace Medical Society (Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Aeroespacial) (SBMA), says that the aviation sector is preparing to impede the entrance of bird flu by implementing a series of measures including: setting up an adequate alert system for suspected cases of the disease on aircraft, careful analysis of cases during flights and efficient treatment upon arrival. The plan also will impose strict control on the movement of nurses and other healthcare personnel, along with attentive tracking of cases.

Magalhães says the measures are similar to those used three years ago during the appearance of SARS (severe, acute respiratory syndrome), also known as "atypical Asian pneumonia," which threatened to become an epidemic.

Implanting the measures will require training of personnel and an educational campaign for the public, Magalhães reports, adding that the sector has already begun preparations following a meeting in Rio de Janeiro yesterday.

Translation: Allen Bennett