The similarity in the early symptoms of Ebola and other widely prevalent diseases in India such as dengue and malaria make the public health risks of the disease, which has ravaged parts of West Africa, far more serious for India, according to Professor Peter Piot, Director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Prof. Piot said the disease’s nature and spread made it “especially challenging” for the Indian health system. “It is particularly important to be vigilant and monitor people closely, and make sure the public are aware of the risks,” Prof. Piot, who co-discovered the Ebola virus in 1976, said.
He said Ebola could spread to any country, as the stray cases in Europe and the United States had shown. However, “In India, with its huge population and urban centres very densely packed, it could pose a challenge if any cases did arrive, as it is harder to isolate patients and trace their contacts for observation. Lack of adequate sanitation is also a problem in parts of the country. These elements could make containing Ebola cases more challenging than in some other countries.”
Added to this is the risk posed by the large number of people from India who work in West Africa and travel to and fro.
“This is an opportunity for the Indian health service to strengthen its infection control measures in all hospitals in preparation for any cases of Ebola arriving in the country,” Prof. Piot said.
“It is very important that proper hygiene practices are observed in all health facilities, and that healthcare workers are properly trained to protect against the spread of the disease if any cases did arrive in India.”
He, however, opposed banning or disrupting flights out of the Ebola-infected regions of West Africa. “The current outbreak is already disrupting entire societies, and cutting off these countries from the rest of the world will only make the social and economic impacts worse,” Prof. Piot said.
The Ebola outbreak, first reported in March 2014, has taken the lives of 4,922 people up to October 23 in the five countries of Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, the United States, besides causing one death in Mali.
The focus of the international committee must be on fighting the outbreak in its heartland of West Africa — the “best way to ensure that the virus does not spread to other countries.”
The international community was “much too slow” in its response to the outbreak, the eminent researcher said. “It’s good that the U.K. and the United States and some other countries are finally beginning to help. But other countries, especially in Europe, must do a lot more.” Ebola is not just an epidemic, but a “humanitarian catastrophe,” he said.
“We don’t just need health care personnel on the ground in West Africa, but also logistics experts, trucks, jeeps and foodstuffs.”
