Europe to step up Sars checks

Ministers backed away from calls to screen passengers

European countries are to step up checks on air passengers arriving from countries affected by the Sars virus.

The move follows a special meeting of health ministers from 25 European countries in Brussels on Monday.

Ministers pledged to work together to stop the virus from taking hold in Europe. However, they stopped short of ordering medical checks on all those flying in from at risk areas.

Instead, they said the emphasis should be on screening passengers before they leave countries affected by the virus.

Pressure on airlines

Nevertheless, they pledged to step up efforts to ensure airlines have procedures in place to ensure passengers can be traced after their arrival.

"We have had reports that some airlines are performing better than others," EU health commissioner David Byrne told journalists. "Traceability is important and that has been emphasised to airlines."

Mr Byrne said it was up to individual countries to decide if they should take further steps to protect against Sars.

But he insisted that screening passengers before they leave affected countries is the best line of defence.

"Exit screening is more valuable than entry screening," he said.

The policy was backed by Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland, director-general of the World Health Organization, who addressed the meeting of ministers earlier.

Speaking after the meeting, she said: "Our advice is that we carry out exit screening on passengers."

"The important thing when passengers get off planes in Europe and elsewhere is to have a system that can identify cases and then trace contacts."

Ministers are keen to ensure the virus, which continues to claim lives in Asia, does not gain a foothold in Europe.

More than 100 confirmed or suspected cases of the killer flu-like have been reported across Europe, but no one has died.

France, Britain, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Sweden, Poland and Spain have so far recorded probable or confirmed Sars cases.

Different governments have been adopting different approaches to the problem.

Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis, whose country currently holds the EU presidency, said there still needs to be more co-ordination on public health issues which are often dealt with at the national level.

He said: "By reaching Athens, it (Sars) could hit London, or it could hit Lisbon from Helsinki, because there's free movement in Europe.

"As a result, it's impossible that the 15 or 25 (member states) confront it each from its own little corner. There must be co-ordination - we must face it in together to avoid the danger."

Ministers also discussed plans for a European centre for disease prevention and control - loosely modelled on a similar body in the United States. The European Commission says a centre should be established by 2005.

Mr Byrne said he would bring proposals on such a centre to the next meeting of health ministers in June.