With Ebola, the most important step is prevention: senior doctor

Sir Ganga Ram Hospital emeritus consultant in medicine Dr. SP Byotra on Wednesday stated that as far as the Ebola virus is concerned, the most important step is the prevention of its spread. Dr Byotra's remarks came in light of the quarantine of an Indian national suspected to be carrying the virus.

"The Ebola patient who has come to Delhi was already in the recovery phase. He has been kept in isolation because there are a total of 90 days, after which the Ebola virus is flushed out of the body," Dr Byotra told ANI.

"Why it was important to isolate the patient is because India is a very vast country and on an everyday basis, 30-35 lakh people travel to or from Delhi. The most important step is prevention," he added.

Dr Byotra was also of the opinion that the government has taken all appropriate steps to contain the spread of the virus.

"I think the government has taken adequate steps. The patient is the first person to have been caught with the disease and he was quarantined immediately. It is very important to take proper steps right from the entry point of the country," he said.

Dr Byotra also stated that there was less of a danger with the Ebola virus spreading like the H1N1 virus as there is a vast difference in the way the two diseases spread.

"There is a difference between the Ebola and the H1N1 viruses. The H1N1 virus travels through airborne water droplets, but the Ebola virus only passes on from close contact or body fluids," he said.

On Tuesday, an Indian national who was travelling from Liberia and had successfully undergone treatment related to the Ebola Virus Disease was quarantined at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here.

The 26-year-old was carrying a medical certificate from the Liberian Ministry of Health and Social Welfare which started that he had been declared free of any clinical signs and symptoms of the disease. However, he has been isolated at the Airport Health Organization's Quarantine Centre as a matter of precaution.