The Maritime Declaration of Health (MDH) as a tool to detect maritime traffic-related health risks: analysis of MDH forms submitted to Spanish ports, October 2014 to March 2015.

The Maritime Declaration of Health (MDH) as a tool to detect maritime traffic-related health risks: analysis of MDH forms submitted to Spanish ports, October 2014 to March 2015. Euro Surveill. 2017 Jun 15;22(24): Authors: López-Gigosos RM, Segura M, Díez-Díaz RM, Ureña I, Urzay D, Guillot P, Guerra-Neira A, Rivera A, Pérez-Cobaleda Á, Martín A, Nuñez-Torrón M, Alvarez B, Faraco M, Barrera JM, Calvo MJ, Gallegos J, Bermejo A, Aramburu C, Dávila M, Carreras F, Neipp R, Mariscal A Abstract The international maritime traffic of people and goods has often contributed to the spread of pathogens affecting public health. The Maritime Declaration of Health (MDH), according to the International Health Regulations (IHR) (2005), is a document containing data related to the state of health on board a ship during passage and on arrival at port. It is a useful tool for early detection of public health risks. The main objective of our study was to evaluate compliance with the model provided in the IHR, focusing on the format and degree of completion of MDH forms received at Spanish ports. We reviewed the content of 802 MDH forms submitted to nine Spanish ports between October 2014 and March 2015. Study results show that 22% of MDH forms presented did not comply with the recommended model and 39% were incomplete. The proportion of cargo ships with correct and complete MDH forms was lower than passenger ships; thus, the nine health questions...
Source: Euro Surveill - Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Tags: Euro Surveill Source Type: research