Ebola scare: Man from Congo, 3 others isolated in Ahmedabad; samples sent for testing

NEW DELHI: A man from Congo and three others who came into contact with him have been isolated in Ahmedabad and their samples sent for Ebola testing, Gujarat health minister Praful Pansheriya said on Wednesday.

The development comes two days after the Gujarat government intensified screening of passengers arriving from Uganda, Congo and South Sudan at Ahmedabad International Airport amid the Ebola outbreak in parts of Africa, particularly Congo.

According to the Centre’s guidelines, intensive screening of flyers arriving from affected countries is under way at the airport. Praful Pansheriya had earlier chaired a review meeting on preparedness measures in the state, reported PTI.

While no Ebola case has been reported in India so far, the Gujarat health department has set up special isolation beds at hospitals in Ahmedabad and Surat as a precautionary measure. Health authorities said passengers arriving from affected African countries are being closely monitored.

Earlier in the day, a 28-year-old Bengaluru woman who arrived from Uganda and was suspected of showing Ebola-like symptoms also tested negative, Karnataka minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said.

In Telangana, health minister C Damodar Rajanarasimha on Tuesday said there was no need for panic, adding that no Ebola case or suspected symptomatic patient had been identified in the state so far.

The World Health Organisation has described the current outbreak as the third-largest outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain on record and declared it a public health emergency of international concern.

“The Government of India is closely monitoring the evolving Ebola virus disease situation in view of recent outbreaks reported in parts of Africa,” the Union ministry of health and family welfare said in a statement on Wednesday.

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