The Intercontinental pandemic arrives to Algeria and enters through Houari Boumediene international Airport, despite the mobilisation of medical teams to detect any cases of swine flu before it overcomes the customs control at the airport and acquisition of thermal cameras to determine any passengers whose temperatures exceed 38°.

• However, H1N1 virus broke through the medial barrier at the airport on last Thursday evening, but how could the Algerian woman coming from USA and carrying the virus cross the gate of Houari Boumediene Airport? What is the efficiency of the special medical teams at the surveillance centres across the Algerian borders and ports and airports..?
• A state of emergency and alert is experienced by the doctors at the health surveillance centres in Houari Boumediene international airport in Algiers as well as the various ports and airports and Algerian borders since the emergence of the pandemic in the world past mid April, and the inauguration of the cell crisis at the Ministry of Health and Hospitals Reform in order to follow up the evolution of the pandemic.
• However, the first case of H1N1 flu in Algeria, a lady coming from Florida on board of the Lufthansa German Airlines n° LH62 accompanied by her two children, one of them is infected according to laboratory tests, thing which need stringent control and doubling of the procedures at the airport.

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•  Dr. Benchihab, manager of the public institution of health told Echorouk that the spread of the pandemic in more than 75 countries and the evolution of the epidemiological situation in an accelerated way in the world as well as the confirmation that H1N1 virus is transmitted from human to human through the air, obliged the transfer of 15 doctors from the directorate to Houari Boumediene international airport every day and in accordance with the rotation system to ensure a strict medical control and health coverage for 24h/24h.
• Doctors are distributed in three units; some of them are mobilized in the coordination general unit of the airport, which is equipped with a room for recovery and quarantine, while the largest number of doctors is distributed in tow controlling units at the level of four arrivals, where every two doctors wait to observe the passengers and detect any suspected cases of flu.
• Dr. Adjrd, in charge of the medical control at Houari Boumediene international airport said the strategy of control depends on the presence of doctors at every setline, before the traveller suspected of being infected with the virus encountered with a policeman, gendarme or customs.
• “The medical control centre at the airport developed several scenarios to deal with the cases of infection. If there would appear symptoms like cough or fever at the plain when it is in the sky, the pilot calls the control centre in order to prepare the special floor particularly for the landing of aircrafts that have suspected cases.

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•  The person suspected of infection must be directly transferred to the medical control centre across an isolated corridor linking the plain with the centre, while all the passengers and crew must be transferred to medial observation until the results of analysis and examination of the suspected person arrive, if the traveller is infected with the virus he has then to be transferred to Ketar hospital for treatment in special rooms, and if the passenger is not infected he is normally allowed to leave the airport.
• The spokesman said the Ministry of Health has acquired thermal cameras to be installed in few days after the end of some administrative procedures.
• “Thermal cameras are necessary to help the doctor identify all the passengers whose temperatures exceed 38°, a work done visually by doctors through talking with the passenger because thermal cameras are only helping us to relieve the pressure.