ROME, October 14 (RIA Novosti) – A Turkish Airlines flight has made an emergency landing in Rome's Fiumicino – Leonardo da Vinci International Airport in order to test two passengers for Ebola, Italy's Corriere della Sera said on Tuesday.
According to the online newspaper, the plane was flying from Istanbul to Pisa in Italy, when a woman from Bangladesh and her four-year-old daughter complained of a high temperature. The captain requested an emergency landing in Rome, where routine Ebola screenings are already underway.
The plane was sent to the airport's remote zone. However, neither passenger tested positive for the deadly disease.
The rest of the passengers were required to fill out forms with personal data before being allowed to continue their flight.
The Ebola virus is transmitted through direct contact with the bodily fluids of those infected. Though there is no officially approved medication for the disease, several countries are currently working on developing Ebola vaccines.
The current Ebola epidemic broke out in Guinea in February and soon spread to the neighboring countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, and Senegal. According to the WHO, the Ebola death toll has almost reached 4,500.
