The Tamil Nadu Health Department is monitoring the health of three persons in the city, including two African nationals, as part of its measures against Ebola.
So far, they have not showed any symptom, health officials said.
The two foreign nationals are from Nigeria where 16 cases of Ebola, including five fatalities, have been reported. The Nigerians have come to the city to undergo a hand surgery at a private hospital. The Health Department is receiving daily updates on their health, official sources told The Hindu on Monday.
The third person is a businessman from Coimbatore, who visited several African countries and had been to Nigeria recently. A Health Inspector was visiting him every day, the sources said.
While the incubation period for Ebola virus is 10 days, the standard operating procedure in the cases of infectious diseases is to monitor the health for twice that period. However, the Central government has directed all the States to monitor those who were in or were from Africa for 30 days.
The three persons are thought to have reached Coimbatore through the New Delhi and Chennai international airports. The Health Department received an alert from New Delhi.
Screening at airportThe Health Department and the Airports Authority of India have established a health desk at the Coimbatore airport to screen passengers from Sharjah. Those exhibiting symptoms of Ebola or other infectious disease like Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), which causes serious and sometimes fatal respiratory illness, are identified during the immigration process and are screened at the health desk staffed by a doctor and a health inspector.
The only other international destination connected to Coimbatore is Singapore. However, passengers from that country are not considered a risk.
The Health Department has been monitoring 175 persons in the State.
