NEW DELHI/AHMEDABAD: Health authorities have intensified airport surveillance, traveller monitoring and quarantine measures after suspected Ebola cases surfaced in Bengaluru and Gujarat, though no Ebola infection has been confirmed in India so far.A 28-year-old Ugandan woman who had been isolated in Bengaluru over suspected Ebola infection has tested negative for the virus, bringing relief amid heightened global concern over fresh outbreaks reported in parts of Africa.Officials said Airport Health Organisation (APHO) teams are directly contacting travellers arriving from affected countries and isolating even mildly symptomatic individuals as a precautionarymeasure. “Even if someone reports a slight headache, we do not want to take any chances and are keeping such persons in isolation,” an official said, adding that samples are being sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) for testing.Officials said the sample of a suspected Gujarat case has been sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune for tests and results are expected in 24 to 48 hours.The Gujarat case involves a 37-year-old man, Amuri Lokula, who reportedly travelled from the African continent and Bangladesh before arriving in Mumbai and later Vadodara for business purposes with two associates. He was quarantined at Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.According to health officials, the man developed fever, cold and cough symptoms and was initially admitted to a private hospital in Vadodara before being shifted to the special Ebola ward set up at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, after his travel history emerged during screening.
What measures should be prioritized to handle potential Ebola cases?
Authorities said his two associates and a doctor who came in professional contact with him have all been placed under observation as a precautionary measure.
