Mumbai: Ebola surveillance has been initiated across Maharashtra, including Mumbai, following directives from the central government. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has designated Kasturba Hospital near Saat Rasta as the isolation facility for suspected cases of this viral haemorrhagic fever.
Preparedness and Guidelines
A senior civic public health official stated, "We are adhering to the Union government's guidelines on surveillance and isolation. Kasturba Hospital serves as our infectious diseases hub and has previously functioned as an isolation centre during outbreaks." The Centre's advisory came after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda a "public health emergency of international concern" on May 17. States have been instructed to enhance surveillance for symptoms such as fever, weakness, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhoea, stomach pain, rash, and red eyes, particularly among travellers from affected African regions.
Airport Screening Measures
Earlier this week, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation issued a protocol requiring airlines to ensure passengers arriving from Ebola hotspots, including Congo and Uganda, submit self-declaration forms before entering India. Thermal screening at Mumbai airport, introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic, continues through infrared sensors that detect elevated body temperature without disrupting passenger flow.
Airport surveillance has already led to a 47-year-old Nagpur resident, who recently returned from Uganda, being placed under mandatory 21-day home quarantine. Officials at Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport alerted civic health authorities about the traveller's recent visit to Uganda. Health officials confirmed he is asymptomatic and stable, but isolation was enforced as a precaution under the Union health ministry's Ebola surveillance protocol.
Advisory to Medical Staff
On Wednesday, BMC MARD issued an advisory to resident doctors across Mumbai's civic hospitals, emphasising preparedness, awareness, and infection-control practices. It clarified that there is currently no Ebola outbreak or community transmission in India.
Expert Insights on Transmission
Infectious diseases specialist Dr Ishwar Gilada explained that Ebola does not spread through casual airborne exposure like influenza or Covid-19. "Individuals become infectious only after symptoms begin, not during the incubation period, which ranges from two to 21 days," he said. Ebola spreads through direct contact with infected blood or bodily fluids, contaminated surfaces, medical equipment, and unsafe caregiving exposure. The disease has a fatality rate ranging from 25% to 90%. The current outbreak-causing Bundibugyo strain has no approved vaccine or targeted treatment.
Dr Gilada further noted, "India has never experienced an indigenous Ebola case. The only previous Ebola-related incident involved a recovered traveller arriving from Liberia in 2014, with no onward transmission reported."
