Nervous air travelers might know Sea-Tac International Airport doesn’t have any flights to or from Africa. What it does have is a quarantine station that’s prepared to stop the spread of contagious diseases, such as Ebola.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has 20 quarantine stations around the U.S. In Seattle, the station is located at Sea-Tac, and it’s not new.
Quarantine stations were originally set up to deal with diseases like cholera and tuberculosis. In the 1970s, those types of illnesses were considered a thing of the past and most quarantine centers were shut down. But in the wake of 9/11, they reopened.
Dr. Jeff Duchin, an infectious diseases specialist with Public Health — Seattle & King County, says Sea-Tac’s station has a CDC physician on staff.
“They will come meet an ill traveler, examine them, take their temperature, question them and then call us if they feel the passenger needs further evaluation or medical care,” Duchin said.
Duchin says most cases the quarantine workers deal with are not public health emergencies. All airport workers, including pilots and flight attendants are routinely trained to look for obvious signs of illness, such as fever, rash or cough.
