Singapore to set up temperature screening for travellers arriving from Nipah virus affected areas

Hospitals and emergency departments have also been alerted to be vigilant for NiV infections.

Singapore's Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA) has released its first steps in response to the Nipah virus infection (NiV) originating from West Bengal, India - and these include alerting hospitals to be vigilant as well as establishing temperature screening at the airport for incoming flights from the affected areas.

Pointing out that this is the seventh Nipah virus outbreak in India since 2001, CDA said that NiV transmission currently is mainly by exposure to bats, and ongoing bio-surveillance programmes to monitor Singapore's bat populations since 2011 have not detected NiV.

However, as the outbreak in West Bengal is reportedly between humans, CDA clarified that human-to-human transmission is rare but does occur. Further, in the current outbreak, transmission was reported to be within hospitals, i.e., between individuals who were in close contact, possibly including contact with bodily fluids.

Even so, Singapore has stepped up vigilance in the following six ways:

1. NiV is a notifiable disease under the Infectious Diseases Act. Medical practitioners and laboratories are required to notify CDA immediately of all confirmed and suspected cases of NiV.

2. Hospitals and emergency departments have been alerted by CDA to be vigilant for NiV infections in patients with compatible symptoms and recent travel history to the affected area.

3. Health advisories will be disseminated to travellers at points of entry to Singapore, with instructions to seek medical attention if unwell after travel for inbound travellers, and health precautions for outbound travellers.

4. Temperature screening will be set up at the airport, for flights arriving from affected areas.

5. Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is stepping up surveillance of newly arrived migrant workers from South Asia, and engaging MOM primary care providers to increase vigilance.

6. CDA is reaching out to its counterparts in South Asia, to better understand the situation. Work is ongoing to establish a global platform for countries to report genome sequencing of detected cases.

Should new information emerge to indicate an increased public health risk to Singapore, CDA has said it will introduce additional public health measures.

Those who are travelling to the affected areas are asked to adopt the following health precautions when overseas:

- Avoid food and drinks potentially contaminated by bats, such as raw date palm sap, and fruit found on the ground;
- Avoid direct contact with unwell persons;
- Avoid direct contact with animals (especially bats and pigs) and bat roosting areas;
- Consume fully cooked food and fruits that can be washed and peeled; and
- Maintain good personal hygiene.

Travellers who develop symptoms during or after travel should seek prompt medical attention and inform their doctors of their recent travel and any potential exposure to raw date palm sap, bats or unwell persons.