The suspected case of Ebola in Chennai has been tested negative yet India remains under high alert. Passengers travelling from west African countries to India are being constantly tracked by the health ministry in coordination with the home and civil aviation ministries.
According to the new statement, all those who have arrived in India till now have been found to be healthy. Mandatory self-reporting is in place and health officers who have been posted in identified international airports all over India are screening passengers getting off aircraft.
‘The government of Tamil Nadu has informed the central government that a person had indeed landed at Chennai airport from Guinea Aug 9. He was checked for symptoms and was found healthy,’ he said.
A health ministry official told IANS a total of 200 calls have so far been received on the helplines set up by the government. The control room with helpline numbers 23063205, 23061469 and 23061302 became operational from Saturday morning.
The Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in the national capital has been identified for treatment and management of any case of Ebola. India has nearly 45,000 nationals living in the four Ebola-affected west African nations.
At the onset of the dreaded disease, a patient experiences fatigue, fever, headache, sore throat and pain in the joints and muscles. The initial symptoms are so common that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the US says cases are often misdiagnosed.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) Friday declared the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak in west Africa as an ‘international health emergency’. ‘A coordinated international response is deemed essential to stop and reverse the international spread of Ebola,’ the WHO said in a statement issued after a two-day meeting of its emergency committee. It noted that the Ebola outbreak in west Africa constituted an ‘extraordinary event’ and a public health risk to other countries.
What is Ebola?
The Ebola virus disease (EVD), formerly known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever is a severe condition caused by a virus from the Filoviridae family. Known to be a condition that is transmitted from animals to humans, this virus spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person or animal.
How is it transmitted? What are its causes?
According to scientists there are five different types of the virus, all of which have the potential to infect humans. According to the WHO (World Health Organisation) this disease can be transmitted from close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected animals. In humans the disease can be transmitted by the following methods:
- Coming into contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of an infected person.
- Healthcare workers may contract the disease through transmission as well through contact with infected bodily fluids.
- Handling the meat from infected animals.
- Contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person who has passed away.
Source: http://www.thehealthsite.com/news/ebola-in-india-ebola-suspect-in-chennai-tests-negative-india-still-on-high-alert/
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