Handbook for the Management of Public Health Events in Air Transport

Overview

With the adoption of the International Health Regulations (IHR) by the World Health Assembly in May 2005, States Parties agreed to develop, strengthen and maintain public health core capacities for prevention, surveillance, control and response at designated points of entry (PoE) as specified in IHR Annex 1. This includes the establishment and maintenance of public health emergency contingency plans at PoE to prevent the international spread of disease. IHR assigns the World Health Organization (WHO) the responsibility to publish, in consultation with States Parties, guidelines on the development of public health surveillance and response capacities. 

According to IHR, competent authorities responsible for the implementation and application of health measures with a defined role at airports (Article 22) are responsible for responding to events that pose a risk to public health, using a multi-sector approach. Events may be caused by biological, chemical or radiological agents. These events are identified through information gathered from air crew or from other competent authorities at the airport during an inspection of an aircraft on the ground. They can also be identified through other informal routes such as media or traveller reports. Event management involves event identification, verification, risk assessment, public health response, monitoring and evaluation.