Ebola threat: Pakistan tightens airport health screening

Pakistan has significantly tightened its border health controls and intensified screening measures at all international airports following the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) decision to declare the escalating Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda a global health emergency.

According to Express Tribune, the proactive measures were ordered directly by the Federal Health Minister, Mustafa Kamal, who instructed civil aviation and border health authorities to deploy strict precautionary screening protocols to insulate the country against potential transmission of the virus.

Despite the heightened security, federal health officials have stressed that the current outbreak remains strictly confined to the African continent.

According to the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, WHO data confirms that no cases of Ebola have been detected outside Africa during this current cycle.

Furthermore, officials noted that Pakistan has never recorded a case of Ebola in its history, and its geographic proximity to neighbouring nations offers an additional buffer.

The National Institute of Health (NIH), alongside the federal health ministry, is maintaining round-the-clock coordination with international health monitors to track the trajectory of the virus in East and Central Africa.

Provinces and border health directorates nationwide have been formally instructed to remain vigilant and review their emergency response frameworks.