Israel Steps Up Ebola Prevention Effort as Cases Continue in Africa

As the Ebola virus continues to spread in Africa and has been identified in several European countries, Israel’s Health Ministry is launching a public information effort aimed at preventing the virus from reaching Israel. According to a report today (Tuesday) in Walla, guidelines and messages about the virus will begin appearing on some El Al flights. The reasoning: because there are no direct flights to Israel from African countries affected by the virus, travelers need to be informed about the major transit airports through which passengers arrive in Israel.

According to the report, the Health Ministry will provide passengers with information and medical guidance following the Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda, and concerns about travelers arriving in Israel from these affected areas. As part of the campaign, informational videos, written messages, and additional content are planned for El Al’s media systems, in order to inform passengers about the symptoms of the disease, ways to prevent it, and the need to seek medical evaluation in the event of exposure.

The Health Ministry said that it is "acting proactively to provide information and guidance to passengers arriving from countries where there is an outbreak, particularly from Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Since there are no direct flights from these countries, major transit hubs through which passengers arrive in Israel have been mapped. Accordingly, the ministry is distributing informational materials to passengers arriving from those destinations, publishing guidelines on El Al flights, and working to bring additional airlines into the effort. The Health Ministry will continue to monitor the global situation and use all tools at its disposal to raise awareness and prevent illness."

As previously reported, no cases of infection with the virus have so far been discovered in Israel. Tests conducted on two people who returned from visits to African countries and were hospitalized over the past two weeks because of suspicious symptoms ruled out the presence of the virus in their bodies.