MIA stages evacuation simulation for infectious diseases

MIA organises emergency services exercises to prepare for potential infectious diseases landing in Malta • Video by Ray Attard

A simulation of a patient with a highly infectious disease landing in Malta was held at the Malta International Airport today as part of a series of emergency exercises held on a frequent basis at the airport.

The director of the newly established Directorate of Critical Infrastructural Protection, John Agius, said that emergency exercises were aimed to better prepare the airport for various emergency scenarios.

“The directorate was created as a response to the perceived need for better coordination and organisation on a national level. It aims to improve safety and emergency responses, which are at the top of MIA’s priority list,” Agius said.

The “patient” in question arrived in Malta on-board an Air Malta flight from Tunisia landed at 10 am this morning.  The patient, a woman, had previously visited Sierra Leone and showed symptoms qualifying as a Grade 4 disease including fever and bleeding. The latter diseases are highly infectious and can include diseases like Ebola among others.

Michael Spiteri, consultant of the emergency department at Mater Dei hospital explained that following a call from cabin crew to air-traffic control, Port Health services would immediately be notified to assess the situation.

“In the eventuality that the reported symptoms are considered suspicious, public health would then be notified, and representatives from the two organisations would then be taken to the aircraft once it has safely landed.”

Spiteri said that following an inspection of other passengers on the flight, and the provision of a list of passengers and their seating organization, passengers would be labelled high or low risk according to their proximity to the patient.

“Other passengers would then be allowed to leave the aircraft on foot, with those labelled high risk being accompanied by Port Health officials. A hazmat unit would then collect the patient and transport her to the appropriate department at Mater Dei Hospital,” Spiteri said.

The patient was taken off the plane in an isolation stretcher and then taken to the Decon Unit, where both staff and the stretcher itself were profusely sprayed with disinfectant to ensure as little contamination as possible.

Spiteri also explained that large scale simulations such as the one held today were not so common, but that the airport often organized table top exercises to analyse resources and practises needed.