Indian govt closely monitoring Ebola situation; no confirmed case yet

The Indian government is closely monitoring the Ebola situation in view of the recent outbreaks in parts of Africa, but no confirmed cases have been reported in the country yet, sources told The Economic Times.

This comes soon after a person was placed under isolation at the State-run Epidemic Diseases Hospital in Bengaluru for observation and further evaluation after travelling from Uganda. The Ebola suspect case was identified after reports of mild symptoms of body ache, sources in the health ministry authorities said.

Also read: Ebola scare in Bengaluru: Traveller isolated after arriving from Uganda, sample sent for testing


Ministry of Health & Family Welfare is maintaining close surveillance and all necessary public health protocols are being followed in accordance with WHO guidelines.

However, the health ministry has confirmed that no case of Ebola Virus Disease has been confirmed in India so far.

TEST RESULT NEGATIVE FOR WOMAN QUARANTINED IN INDIA'S BENGALURU OVER SUSPECTED EBOLA INFECTION - INDIA GOVT

The source said that the individual is otherwise in a healthy condition till now apart from experiencing a mild body ache. "A sample has been collected and sent to the National Institute of Virology for laboratory testing," it said.

The Indian goverment has clarified that the test result for woman quarantined in Bengaluru was negative.

Ebola outbreak in Congo

According to the latest statistics issued by World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Ebola Bundibugyo outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is likely much larger than currently confirmed figures, warning that active transmission continues to expand across affected regions.

Sharing an update on the outbreak in a post on X, Tedros said 101 cases have so far been confirmed in the DRC, including 10 confirmed deaths. However, he cautioned that the actual scale of the epidemic is significantly higher, with more than 900 suspected cases and 220 suspected deaths under investigation.


He further noted that neighbouring nation Uganda has also reported fresh infections, including two additional confirmed cases among healthcare workers, taking the total number of confirmed cases in the country to seven, including one death.

He added that the WHO and partner agencies are scaling up response measures with global health teams working to intensify contact tracing and surveillance to identify infected individuals at the earliest and break chains of transmission.

The international health agency has already flagged the Bundibugyo strain outbreak as a serious public health concern amid ongoing challenges in diagnosis, treatment availability, and surveillance in conflict-affected regions of central Africa.