CBP officers and agriculture specialists are being called to protect the people of the United States from such a deadly scenario.

On April 24, 2006, the Atlanta, Ga. field office held an exercise to see how CBP’s Standard Operating Procedure would stand up to an airplane landing at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport with a patient who has a potentially contagious disease.

Photo Credit: Marshall Huckaby

Chief CBP officer Dale O'Connor briefs CBP officers before an avian flu exercise

Some areas that needed improvement were identified, but overall, CBP’s role in this type of emergency involving an international flight was proven to be effective. Observers and evaluators commented favorably on CBP’s resources and their coordination and utilization during the exercise.

“The Atlanta Avian Flu Practical exercise gave us a chance to go through the motions and see what kind of problems we might encounter. There were communications issues, we expected that. Perhaps of equal value was that the exercise helped everyone define their authorities and roles within the Airport community,” said Richard F. Quinn, Acting Director of Field Operations.

“In my view,” he continued, “this is pretty critical given the fact that a symptomatic passenger is more likely to be encountered arriving from foreign than on a domestic flight. There were some port stakeholders that had not focused on or realized that the federal government – CBP – would, even in the face of a possible H5N1 infected passenger, still have important responsibilities related to the control and processing of the passengers, baggage, cargo, and aircraft.”

It’s comforting to know that the men and women of CBP will be able to react to an emergency such as the above exercise professionally and quickly.

Summary of avian influenza exercise 0930 hours - Blue Water Air flight 1388,inbound from Paris, France reports a 41 year old male, U.S. citizen, born in Vietnam, with a 103 degree fever, sore throat, headache and dry cough. University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) recommends isolating the passenger and covering his face with a mask. 0945 hours – CBP is notified of the situation by the tower and the Hartsfield-Jackson Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Quarantine Station. 0950 hours – BWA flight 1388 arrives at Hartsfield-Jackson and is directed to a remote location. CDC Public Health officials request assistance from CBP. CBP deploys Anti Terrorism – Cargo Enforcement Team members and begins the process of establishing a secure perimeter. 1000 hours – Two CBP officers are posted planeside to await further instructions. 1010 hours – CBP establishes a secure perimeter and a Mobile Command Center planeside. Atlanta Police and Fire Department emergency units arrive on site. A CDC Public Health Physician and Atlanta EMS personnel enter the aircraft to evaluate the passenger. 1030 hours – A Unified Command Center is established. Components include CBP and other Federal, State and local entities. CBP requests a copy of the passenger manifest. Immigration and Customs Enforcement dispatches agents to the Passenger Analysis Unit to determine if any of the passengers are listed in any law enforcement databases. Public Health determines that six passengers need to be transported to area hospitals. 1100 hours – CBP, assisted by Atlanta police, begins evacuating passengers to a nearby hangar. CBP maintains operational control of the aircraft, luggage and all onboard cargo. When a fire breaks out on the aircraft, the Atlanta fire department quickly extinguishes it. All passengers and crew are accounted for. 1110 hours – The evacuation is completed and Federal, State and local health officials begin establishing a temporary shelter to house passengers and crew. The American Red Cross is asked to provide cots, blankets, food, water and other necessary items. 1145 hours – Medical tests are positive for H5N1 virus for five ill passengers. 1200 hours – CBP officers wearing N-95 masks and gloves begin processing the remaining passengers and luggage. 1215 hours – Inspection of the passengers and their luggage is completed and the PAU identified no persons of interest. The ill father was admitted as a U.S. citizen and the mother and three children were granted a 30 day medical emergency parole into the U.S.