Is Belize Really Prepared for an Ebola Outbreak?

On major international news agencies, the news today was about Ebola and how countries are preparing to deal with any eventuality. The virus has been detected close to the Jewel in Dallas, Texas. The U.S. today went into emergency mode to coordinate a response in case of an outbreak. Elsewhere, in the Caribbean, Saint Lucia is banning visitors from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. To the west, Guatemala is also monitoring its borders checking the travel background of visitors. As it relates to the local Ministry of Health, we were told today that there was no one to respond to our questions about any plan or resources in place to deal with a possible threat. News Five’s Isani Cayetano reports. 

Isani Cayetano, Reporting

The threat of an outbreak of Ebola virus disease locally remains a real possibility, despite the fact that there have been no cases of the deadly strain diagnosed in Belize so far.  The risk is primarily centered around the travel industry where scheduled flights depart from and arrive at the Phillip Goldson International Airport daily.  A majority of those trips are bound for the United States, either as the final destination or to connecting flights elsewhere.  The U.S. being the hub of transnational air traffic for Belize, poses a degree of concern particularly since an American Airlines flight commutes regularly between Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and the PGIA.  Dallas, as you may know, has recorded a third Ebola diagnosis.  The identification succeeds a domestic flight from Ohio to the Texan city and is presently raising questions about the stateside effort to control the disease.  While the likelihood of other passengers being infected with the disease was very low, the nurse who treated Liberian patient Thomas Eric Duncan, also diagnosed with Ebola in Dallas, should not have been onboard the local flight.  That is according to Dr. Thomas Frieden, Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The fact that twenty-nine-year-old Amber Vinson was exposed to the same virus which later killed Duncan and was allowed to travel interstate, among a hundred and thirty other passengers, is now calling to question the handling of Duncan’s case, as well as its outcome by both the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital and the CDC.

Here in Belize City, a press conference was held last Tuesday where it was announced that a similar initiative will be led by the Ministry of Health and will include the Immigration Department.  This is in spite of serious concerns that the department is somewhat sluggish and a little too rigid when working with other agencies.

Michael Pitts

Dr. Michael Pitts, Director of Health Services

“I met with Mr. Defoe from NEMO to say that look, we have to look at Ebola as this potential threat to the country and he coming from the organization that organizes and bring together all the people.  I asked him that he uses his office to ensure that when we call out Immigration that we have their person who would make the right decision at the table with us.  In the past we had gotten support but at this point in time we don’t have the full support that I believe this one needs but we’re having some urgent meetings over the next ten days with those stakeholders to get it.”

In the Caribbean, the government of St. Lucia has implemented flight restrictions for countries that have recorded Ebola diagnoses.  Prime Minister Kenny Anthony has advised the Commissioner of Police to immediately carry out an embargo on all visitors from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.  Meanwhile in Jamaica, an Integrated National Coordinating Team, led by the Ministry of Health and the Jamaica Defence Force, has been organized to spearhead the country’s heightened preparations in the event of an outbreak.

Dr. Michael Pitts, Director of Health Services, agrees that there needs to be a similar multi-agency approach taken in Belize.

Dr. Michael Pitts

“I agree with you that there needs to be a multi-agency response and in fact that is what, through the, I maybe used the words and haven’t developed it but when we look at international health core capacity it speaks to multi-agency and this is what Mr. Bodden helps to coordinate where you bring together Customs, Immigration, Civil Aviation, Tourism, the ports agent and the shipping agent, all of those people together in one forum to identify the different activities.  In fact, over time we have been doing that to assess those core capacities and look at where the weaknesses and where the strengths are.”

Reporting for News Five, I am Isani Cayetano.