First Ebola case surfaces in India, patient quarantined

The 26-year-old victim contracted the deadly virus abroad; he had landed in Delhi on November 10

In the first case of Ebola in the country, a national returning from Liberia has tested positive and has been isolated at a special facility at Delhi airport.

The health ministry said the 26-year-old man, who reached here last Monday, was already treated for the disease in the African country and had no symptoms. But the ministry said his semen samples tested positive, prompting authorities to isolate him.

"The situation is under control and there is no need for any alarm. All precautions are being taken," the ministry said.

It said during recovery, people continued to shed virus in body fluids for variable periods.

But the virus in his semen samples may transmit the disease through sex up to 90 days from the time of clinical cure, it said.

He will remain in isolation in the facility till his body fluids test negative and he is found medically fit to be discharged, it said. The ministry insisted the man was a treated and cured case.

He had carried a medical clearance certificate from the Liberian government that "he has successfully undergone care and treatment related to Ebola and after post-treatment assessment has been declared free of any clinical signs and symptoms and confirmed negative by laboratory analysis," the statement said quoting the document.

His three blood samples tested here were found negative. Therefore, according to the World Health Organization’s and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s specifications, he was cured, it said.

But the ministry added the virus may continue to be positive in secretions like urine and semen for a longer time.

Liberia is one of the countries that have seen a number of Ebola cases.