INDIAN TROOPS IN AFRICA PUT ON HIGH ALERT OVER EBOLA VIRUS
Saturday, 02/08/2014
http://paper.hindustantimes.com/epaper/viewer.aspx
NEW DELHI: Indian troops deployed in UN peacekeeping operations in west and central Africa have been put on high alert against the Ebola virus following the deadliest outbreak of the disease in the region, the Health Ministry said on Friday.
The Ebola virus has killed 729 people in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Nigeria this year, sparking concerns about the threat of the virus travelling out of Africa and causing outbreaks across continents.
India refrained from issuing a travel warning following a health ministry risk-assessment meeting on Friday, which concluded that the armed forces deployed as UN peacekeepers in the three worst-affected countries — Liberia, Sudan and Congo — were a bigger concern than travellers. The meeting was also attended by representatives of the armed forces medical service.
“The armed forces have been advised to sensitise and screen peacekeepers returning home, and airport authorities have been advised to begin passive surveillance by asking passengers travelling from affected countries to report symptoms, so that they can be isolated and tested for Ebola,” said Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan.
The US has issued a travel advisory against non-essential travel to Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, but the World Health Organisation maintains the current risk of an Ebola outbreak outside Africa is low.
The contagious disease, which has no known cure, has symptoms that include sudden fever and muscle pain, followed by bleeding that leads to death. Unlike swine flu, which was airborne, the Ebola virus spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids of infected people, which makes it less contagious than the flu.
