By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor

WASHINGTON, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Parking an aircraft at a distant gate may help keep potentially infectious travelers away from the general public, according to a manual released on Thursday by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Airline crews are responsible for spotting and reporting sick passengers who might spread a dangerous illness, the manual noted, but health officials should decide whether to call police to help subdue those unwilling to be isolated.

The manual also reminds airline staff to make sure passengers have water and access to toilets while they wait to see if they must be isolated after exposure to a sick passenger.

"The best way to protect the public is to be prepared for the worst," Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said in a statement.

"This manual will help airports, airlines, and local officials take steps now to get prepared, save lives, and keep our transportation network running."

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has the authority to decide whether to isolate or quarantine travelers who may have an infectious disease and those they have come into contact with.

It has not had to invoke that power, but can do so in the case of nine diseases -- cholera, diphtheria, communicable tuberculosis, plague, smallpox, yellow fever, viral hemorrhagic fever, severe acute respiratory syndrome or SARS, and avian influenza with pandemic potential.

Health officials are most worried about H5N1 avian influenza, which is spreading among birds and which has infected at least 269 people and killed 163 of them.

DISRUPTIVE DISEASES

"Unfortunately, the more than nine million flights a year that traverse our skies carry the risk of less welcome cargo: infectious diseases with the potential to disrupt our way of life and cause disastrous suffering and loss," Peters wrote in a forward to the manual, published on the Internet at http://isddc.dot.gov/OLPFiles/OST/013334.pdf.

Among its recommendations and other details:

-- "Park the aircraft at a secure, remote gate." That will give unconstrained access to any sick passengers, but could delay passengers in case of a false alarm.

-- "Inadequate ventilation, insufficient bathroom facilities and the potential for deep vein thrombosis from sitting for long periods of time pose health risks for 'well' passengers and flight crew."

-- Passengers have cell phones and there will be no way to keep such an incident quiet.

-- "Ill travelers may insist that they are not ill enough to require hospitalization. Should this case arise, CDC Quarantine Station personnel or their authorized representative(s) will: Consult with state and local health authorities and issue a federal isolation order (or) call on local, state, or federal law enforcement to enforce the federal order."

The manual also reminds airlines they should help delayed passengers re-book tickets.

"The quarantined passengers and flight crew have just gone through a long ordeal. They may be hounded by the media for details or questioned by friends and families about it," the manual adds.

"CDC, public information officers, and public health officers should brief them ahead of time to help them cope with these inquiries."

Airlines should also remember to clean the aircraft afterward.

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