The Indian government is maintaining intense surveillance to prevent the spread of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in the country. A control room with helpline numbers 23063205, 23061469 and 23061302 got operational on Saturday morning at the Health Ministry and it dealt with 30 calls during the day, according to an official statement.
Union Minister for Health Dr. Harsh Vardhan has clarified that India does not have any confirmed or even suspected Ebola virus affected person. The World Health Organisation (WHO) had informed that one Indian passenger had travelled on the same flight in which an Ebola virus patient (a foreign national) was travelling from Monrovia to Lagos. This Indian passenger is back in India. He has been tracked and his health is being regularly monitored. The Health Minister said, “We are happy to share that the person is healthy, fit and fine.”
The Minister expressed satisfaction with the reaction of the general public to the awareness campaign launched by the government. “Most of the callers to the helpline reflected a mature understanding of the collective responsibility in times like this. They wanted to know details about the symptoms and preventive measures,” Dr. Harsh Vardhan said in the statement.
The government has already started the tracking passengers arriving from the affected countries by the Airport Health Organizations based on the information provided by Ministry of External Affairs. It is also tracking and monitoring the health of passengers, who travelled from the affected countries in their respective States, by the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme.
The government has advised Indians against non-essential travel to the four West African countries –Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria — which form the epicentre of Ebola Virus Disease. Till late there are 1779 cases from Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria with 961 deaths.
