Surveillance and precautionary measures against the Ebola virus were intensified at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport on Friday, just hours after similar preventive steps were taken at the Cochin International Airport in Kochi, Kerala.
It is worth noting that Ebola is a deadly viral disease that spreads through direct contact with infected bodily fluids. It can lead to severe bleeding and multi-organ failure.
The World Health Organization said the outbreak in Central Africa is “spreading rapidly,” making efforts to control a rare strain of the virus more difficult, as there is no approved treatment or vaccine.
Delhi airport intensifies Ebola surveillance
- The IGI Airport in the national capital has implemented precautionary arrangements amid growing concern across the world over Ebola cases reported in some African regions.
- The Airport Public Health Officer (APHO) chaired a meeting of all stakeholders, including the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Bureau of Immigration (BoI), Customs officials, airlines and Ground Handling Agencies (GHAs), to apprise them of the directives issued by the ministry and sensitize them to the situation. The authorities also introduced several operational steps to improve screening and response procedures.
- HT has learned that Tensa barriers have been installed to regulate passenger movement from thermal screening areas in the international arrivals sections.
- The advice was also circulated on social media based on the instructions of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Directives issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) have also been sent to airlines to ensure they are followed properly.
- The move comes after monitoring procedures were also strengthened at Kochi Airport. A spokesperson for the Cochin International Airport Limited told news agency PTI that a 24-hour monitoring system has now been introduced as part of efforts to identify possible symptoms at an early stage and improve coordinated public health response efforts.
- Passengers arriving from countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and South Sudan will be subject to special health monitoring in the wake of global alerts linked to the Ebola outbreak, authorities said.
Ebola outbreak
The virus is transmitted from wild animals such as fruit bats, porcupines and non-human primates to humans.
It then spreads through direct contact with the blood, secretions, organs, or other body fluids of infected individuals. Contaminated objects, including bedding and clothing, can also transmit the infection.
There are currently no approved vaccines or treatments for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola associated with the ongoing outbreak.
To date, 82 cases have been confirmed in Congo, including seven confirmed deaths, 177 suspected deaths, and about 750 suspected cases.
The head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that the situation in Uganda remains stable, with two confirmed cases in people who traveled from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, one of which was fatal.
