A 28-year-old woman who travelled to the Indian city of Bengaluru from Uganda has been placed in quarantine with a suspected case of Ebola.
Earlier this month, the World Health Organisation (WHO) stated an epidemic of Ebola brought on by the Bundibugyo virus within the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda was a ‘public health emergency of international concern.’
Local authorities reported that the girl developed a light body ache shortly after arriving in India. It was reported she had also transited through Ahmedabad in western India.
The National Institute of Virology for testing has confirmed that the girl’s test returned negative for Ebola.
Similarly, Anul Kumar Banagar, the medical superintendent of the state-run Epidemic Diseases Hospital, reported that she had shown no Ebola symptoms on the Indian airport after a screening.
Nevertheless, for precautions, health officials have said she is going to isolate for 48 hours. She is going to only be released when she has tested negative for the disease a second time.
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The Hindu quoted Dr Banagar: ‘The District Surveillance team and airport health officials were tracking her condition. She developed a light body ache nearly 24 hours later, following which samples were collected and sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune.’
The doctor explained that even when the girl tests negative, protocol states a ‘repeat test can be conducted after 48 hours of statement.’
He reiterated: ‘She can be discharged only after testing negative twice.’
This potential spread comes after roughly 220 Ebola deaths were reported within the Democratic Republic of Congo after an outbreak was announced earlier this month.
Reports suggest the outbreak began several days or even weeks before the Congolese authorities declared it.
Then, Ugandan health authorities reported on Monday that two latest Ebola cases had been confirmed, increasing the variety of infections to seven.
All have been linked to the outbreak in neighbouring Congo.
A ‘rare’ Ebola strain with no cure may be in Europe, after a health alert was issued in northern Italy after two aid staff developed Ebola-like symptoms.
The help staff, who returned to Lombardy after a three-month trip to Uganda, are actually presenting with symptoms consistent with the disease, including fever, nausea, vomiting, and intestinal problems.
The employees have been transferred to a hospital in Milan, which is supplied to take care of high-risk infectious diseases.
Meanwhile, Lombardy’s regional welfare minister has attempted to stop worries that the deadly disease could spread.
He told a press conference: ‘There remains to be no certainty that that is Ebola. We’re hopeful that they can be negative.’
The danger to the general public stays low.
Nevertheless, within the Democratic Republic of Congo, the continuing conflict has been compromising the outbreak response.
Ituri Province, within the northeast of the country, where a lot of the cases have been reported, has been under military rule since 2021.
The civilian authority was replaced by a military general to assist disable the armed groups that operate within the region.
Despite this military rule, violence within the region has continued and intensified. Attacks by residents on makeshift hospitals in Ituri have risen within the last week.
This weekend, at the least 18 people possibly infected with Ebola fled a hospital after it was attacked multiple times by grieving families.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the top of the World Health Organisation, said that the east of the DRC was on the centre of a ‘catastrophic collision of disease and conflict’ because the outbreak outpaced the response.
He said stopping the spread within the region ‘depends entirely on humanitarian access.’
Nevertheless, Dr Ghebreyesus stated that ‘ongoing clashes are driving mass displacement, pushing exposed contacts into overcrowded camps and severing critical containment corridors.’
He added that frontline staff are ‘risking every little thing, while attacks on health facilities make tracking cases and their contacts nearly not possible.’
What’s Ebola?
Ebola virus disease is ‘a serious, rare infection normally present in certain parts of Africa,’ in line with the NHS.
It’s typically caught by ‘coming into contact with the body fluids of an infected person or wild animal.’
Symptoms include:
- being sick
- diarrhoea and tummy pain
- a skin rash
- yellowing of the skin and eyes
- blood in your poo
- a lot of bruises throughout your body
- bleeding out of your ears, eyes, nose or mouth
- muscle pain
- sore throat
- blood in vomit or poo
- bleeding from nose, gums or vagina
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