How worried should we be about Ebola?

HEALTH

WHO has declared the Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

So, is India at risk? Except for one international traveller in 2014, no Ebola case has been reported in India, as per ToI. India also has the lab capacity to detect Ebola through RT-PCR testing.

Early Ebola symptoms often resemble viral illnesses, so authorities have been reported calling for surveillance and rapid testing.

What should you know

•HERE'S WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT EBOLA: 1. The average Ebola disease case fatality rate is around 50%, as per WHO. 2. There are no vaccines for the Bundibugyo virus that's behind the recent outbreak. 3. A public health emergency of international concern is only one level below a 'pandemic' as Covid-19 was.
•WHAT'S NEEDED TO KEEP INDIA SAFE: 1. Strict screening of travellers from high-risk zones. 2. Monitoring during the 21-day incubation period. 3. Public cooperation and rapid reporting

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