'Report, seek medical care': DGHS issues advisory for flyers from Ebola-hit countries

NEW DELHI: The Directorate General of Health Services on Thursday issued a health advisory for passengers arriving from or transiting through Ebola-affected countries.

Travellers were advised to immediately report to airport health authorities and seek medical care within 21 days if they show symptoms such as fever, vomiting, diarrhoea or bleeding, or if they had direct contact with infected persons.

"Any traveller developing the above symptoms within 21 days of arrival should immediately seek medical care and inform healthcare authorities about their travel history," the advisory reads.


"Please cooperate with health screening and public health measures in the interest of passenger safety and International Health Regulations (IHR)," it added.

This comes a day after Union health secretary Punya Salila Srivastava chaired a high-level meeting with health secretaries of all states and Union territories to review preparedness and response measures against Ebola virus disease.

The review comes as Ebola cases in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have crossed a death toll of 100 people.

The meeting focused on strengthening surveillance, screening, quarantine protocols and hospital readiness, even as the Centre confirmed that no Ebola case has been detected in the country so far.

The Union health ministry said the country has stepped up precautionary measures in view of the Ebola outbreak reported in the DRC and Uganda, news agency ANI reported.

During the review meeting, states and UTs were asked to ensure preparedness at every level of the healthcare system. The Centre has already circulated detailed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) covering pre-arrival and post-arrival screening, quarantine procedures, laboratory testing, case management and referral mechanisms.

The Union health secretary stressed the need for coordinated surveillance, timely reporting and readiness of designated healthcare facilities to deal with any potential threat. Ministries and departments concerned have also been sensitised and are working in coordination with the health ministry on preventive and surveillance measures.

The ministry underlined that India has prior experience in handling Ebola-related preparedness, pointing to the 2014 Ebola outbreak in Africa when similar precautionary measures were implemented successfully.

The Centre also urged citizens not to panic and advised them to continue following official health advisories and updates.

Earlier, the World Health Organisation declared the Ebola outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).