Echoing concern, the director-general of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the epidemic is outpacing us.
“We are urgently scaling up operations, but at the moment the epidemic is outpacing us,” Tedros said, adding that countries bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo, the epicentre of the outbreak, should take immediate action.
Officials informed that Uganda reported two more Ebola cases, taking its total number of confirmed cases to seven. India, too, is taking steps to monitor the situation that has killed at least 220 in the current Ebola outbreak.
No case of Ebola Virus Disease has been reported in the country so far, the government said, as Union Health Minister J P Nadda reviewed the preparedness and surveillance measures to prevent any possible outbreak in India.
Authorities have been instructed to keep Ebola screening arrangements at all points of entry across the country, including airports, seaports, and land border crossings, fully vigilant and robust.
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) have been directed to ensure that all necessary arrangements for tracking, testing and surveillance are ready at all times.
As per the Centre’s directives, Gujarat Health Minister Praful Panseriya confirmed that intensive screening of passengers arriving from Uganda, Congo and South Sudan is being conducted at the Ahmedabad International Airport.
As a part of the precautionary measures, the government has advised citizens to avoid non-essential travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Uganda and South Sudan in view of the Ebola outbreak caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain in parts of Africa.
Comments are closed.