Leading companies offering medical evacuation services are balking at flying Ebola patients out of West Africa for treatment abroad as the cost and the complexities of the deadly epidemic grow.
Several airlines have cut flights to the region and there are reports of countries not allowing air ambulances to make refueling stops, further complicating the so-called medevac option many companies provide for staffers in risky regions.
The world’s worst Ebola epidemic since the disease was identified in 1976 has killed more than 4,000 people, mainly in West Africa. The virus, spread by contact with bodily fluids, causes fevers and potentially fatal bleeding.
Several foreign health workers have been repatriated for treatment after contracting Ebola in West Africa.
Two leading companies in the field - medical assistance company International SOS and insurance firm Allianz Worldwide Care - both recently said they would not provide medevac services for all patients with Ebola symptoms.
An International SOS spokesman clarified the company’s position on Saturday to say that did not mean their services were not available under any circumstances, and pointed to a new statement on its website.
“International evacuation for patients with active clinical symptoms of Ebola is extremely limited and may not be achievable if patients have any uncontrolled body fluids, such as vomiting, diarrhoea or bleeding,” the statement read on Saturday.
An earlier statement said that “evacuation should not be considered as feasible” for patients with active clinical symptoms of Ebola.
The medical insurance firm Allianz Worldwide Care ruled out such services in an online statement updated on Wednesday, saying: “Our air ambulance partners are currently not evacuating patients with suspected or confirmed Ebola infection out of affected regions due to the highly complex nature of evacuations when Ebola or other viral haemorrhagic fevers are involved.
“In the case of suspected or confirmed Ebola cases, we would liaise closely with our clients and brokers to see whether there is any possibility of military medical evacuation via support from the patient’s local embassy and home government.”
An Allianz spokeswoman said no insurers or air ambulances were able to evacuate people with symptoms of Ebola. Other insurance and assistance firms contacted by Reuters declined to comment, did not respond to requests for comment or said they had not dealt with Ebola cases.
Insurance companies often provide medical evacuation as a routine part of international health insurance policies, but the evacuation option may not apply in the case of an epidemic.