Govt Issues Ebola Advisory For Travellers Coming To India From High Risk Countries

New Delhi: The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has issued an advisory urging passengers with Ebola symptoms arriving in India from high risk countries to report to the health authorities before immigration clearance.

The advisory comes a day after the government on Wednesday said no Ebola cases have been detected in the country so far. Union health secretary Punya Salila Srivastava has, however, asked the states and union territories (UTs) to ensure readiness at all levels.

The measures came after the World Health Organization (WHO) on Sunday declared Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda as a public health emergency “of international concern”.

The DGHS on Thursday urged the passengers who have travelled from high risk countries of DR Congo, Uganda and South Sudan, to bear caution and report to the airport health officer and health desk in case of symptoms.

Through the advisory, people have been asked to report for immigration clearance in case they carry the symptoms of “fever, weakness, fatigue, headache, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhea and unexplained bleeding and sore throat.”

“Passengers who had direct contact with blood or body fluids of a person suspected or confirmed to have Ebola disease must immediately report to the airport health officer and health desk before immigration clearance,” said the DGHS advisory.

“Any traveler developing the symptoms within 21 days of arrival should immediately seek medical care and inform healthcare authorities about their travel history. Please cooperate with health screening and public health measures in the interest of passenger safety and International Health Regulations (IHR),” the advisory added.

On Wednesday, the Union health secretary said that detailed standard operating procedures (SOPs) over the “pre-arrival and post-arrival screening, quarantine protocols, case management, referral mechanisms, and laboratory testing have already been shared with the states and UTs.”

The WHO has categorised Ebola disease as a rare and severe illness “in humans which is often fatal.” The disease is known to have first occurred in 1976 in two outbreaks in South Sudan and DRC.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said that the Ebola situation in the DRC and Uganda is a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) but not a pandemic emergency.