The Union Heath Ministry has issued advisory on Ebola for travellers from “high risk countries” to Indian ports, airports, and all points of entry to the country. Anyone travelling from or transiting through DR Congo, Uganda, and South Sudan and experiencing symptoms such as fever, weakness and fatigue, headache, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, unexplained bleeding, and sore throat have been asked to report to the airport health officer or health desk before going to the immigration check.

Any person with a history of direct contact with blood or bodily fluids of a person confirmed or suspected to have Ebola should also reach out to the health authorities at the port of entry.  The measures were taken as a matter of precaution. There are no ebola cases in the country as of now.

“Please cooperate with health screening and public health measures in the interest of passenger safety and international health regulation,” says the advisory, reminiscent of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) last week sounded the alarm bells, declaring the ebola outbreak a public health emergency of international concern. Its senior officials have flagged the speed of the spread ever since the outbreak was detected. The Health Ministry has since conducted two meetings on the issue — one with its own officials and one with the states to check the preparedness levels. 

During the high level meeting Health Secretary Puniya Salila Srivastava on Wednesday, States and Union Territories were advised to be ready on all fronts, with standard operating procedures shared covering pre-arrival and post-arrival screening, quarantine protocol, case management, referral mechanism, and laboratory testing. Srivastava emphasised the importance of coordinated surveillance, timely reporting, and preparedness of designated health facilities.

Ebola is a zoonotic infection — caused by Orthoebolavirus family — that can be extremely fatal in humans. It can spread from humans to humans through direct contact with infected fluids such as blood, saliva, sweat, tears, vomit, faeces, and breast milk among others. It can also be transmitted by touching contaminated surfaces and contact with dead bodies of those who have died of the infection. While most of the symptoms of the disease are like flu — fever, headache, muscle and joint pains — unexplained internal and external bleeding is one of the distinct features of the disease.