(a) whether the Ministry of External Affairs has received any request from the Ministry of
Health and Family Welfare to prevail upon the nations affected by Swine Flu to start screening of
passengers bound for India to check the spread of the disease;
(b) if so, the details thereof; and
(c) the steps taken by the Ministry of External Affairs in this regard and the success
achieved as a result thereof?
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS(SHRI SHASHI THAROOR)
(a) Yes.
(b)& (c) On the request of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the MEA sent
instructions to Indian Missions in the affected countries (as indicated by the Ministry of Health
and Family Welfare) to take up the issue of exit screening for passengers traveling to India.
So far, no country has commenced such exit screening for the following reasons:
(i) World Health Organization (WHO) has not asked the affected countries to conduct such exit
screening nor recommended any travel restrictions relating to the outbreak of swine flu.
(ii) WHO has reported 77201 laboratory confirmed cases of swine flu from 112 countries as on
1st July,2009.As such the infection is a global phenomenon.