Ugandan woman in Bengaluru tests negative for Ebola: Karnataka Health Minister Rao
The woman had arrived at Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport on May 23 and was isolated at a hospital as a precautionary measure.
No confirmed cases of Ebola have been found in India. A 28-year-old Ugandan woman who had been isolated in Bengaluru over suspected Ebola infection has tested negative for the virus, Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said Wednesday.
“The suspected Ebola case reported in the state has tested negative following laboratory examination. Health authorities have confirmed that the individual is not infected with Ebola. All required medical protocols and precautionary measures were strictly followed in accordance with established public health guidelines,” Rao said in a statement.
The woman had arrived at Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport on May 23. After she complained of fever, she was isolated at the state-run Epidemic Diseases Hospital in Indiranagar as a precautionary measure. Her samples were sent to the National Institute of Virology for testing.
Officials said the woman had initially checked into a hotel after arriving in Bengaluru before being shifted to the hospital for isolation and observation.
The Karnataka Health Department had intensified screening at the airport, particularly for passengers arriving from African countries, after the World Health Organization on May 17 flagged an Ebola outbreak in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The state government had also issued an advisory directing travellers arriving from affected regions to undergo self-monitoring and health observation for 21 days.
According to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has classified the ongoing outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola virus disease in the two countries as a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security (PHECS).
Ebola is a severe viral haemorrhagic fever caused by infection with the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus and is associated with a high mortality rate. There are currently no approved vaccines or specific treatments for the Bundibugyo strain.
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