India has quarantined a woman from Uganda in the tech hub of Bengaluru for a suspected Ebola infection, a health ministry source said on Wednesday, in a case that would be the South Asian nation’s first since 2014, if confirmed.
The news comes a day after Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda said India had not reported any cases of the disease, which the World Health Organisation has declared a public health emergency of international concern.
The 28-year-old Ugandan national developed mild body ache, but is otherwise healthy, while results are awaited from tests of samples taken from her, added the source, who sought anonymity for lack of authorisation to speak to media.
Domestic media said test results were expected within a day or two for the traveller, who arrived in the southern city from the western industrial city of Ahmedabad on her journey from the East African country.
India has launched screening and surveillance measures at airports and other entry points, while issuing advisories on screening, quarantine, and other measures, Nadda said.
It has already urged citizens to avoid non-essential travel to Congo, Uganda, and South Sudan.
The India-Africa Forum Summit scheduled this week in the capital, New Delhi, was postponed over the public health concerns in Africa.
The WHO has confirmed 101 cases among more than 900 globally suspected of the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment.
Source: Reuters
