Ebola disease under intense surveillance by government

The government is maintaining intensive surveillance to prevent the spread of the dreaded Ebola disease in the country.

A control room with helpline numbers 23063205, 23061469 and 23061302 got operational on Saturday morning at the Health Ministry and dealt with 30 calls during the day.

Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan has clarified that India does not have any confirmed or even suspected Ebola virus affected person.

WHO had informed that one Indian passenger had travelled on the same flight in which an Ebola virus patient was travelling from Monrovia to Lagos.

This Indian passenger is back in India. He has been tracked and his health is being regularly monitored. The Health Minister said "We are happy to share that the said person is healthy, fit and fine."

The Minister also expressed satisfaction with the reaction of the general public to the awareness campaign launched by the government.

"Most of the callers to the helpline reflected a mature understanding of the collective responsibility in times like this. They wanted to know details about the symptoms and preventive measures," Dr Harsh Vardhan said.

The government has already started tracking of passengers arriving from the affected countries by the Airport Health Organizations based on the information provided by Ministry of External Affairs

Non-essential travel to the four West African countries -Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria - which form the epicenter of Ebola, has also been advised against.