Ebola screening at B'lore, M'lore airports from today

To prevent entry of the deadly Ebola virus into the State, passengers arriving at Bangalore and Mangalore airports would be subjected to screening from Saturday.

Minister for Health and Family Welfare U T Khader told reporters in Mangalore on Friday that though Bangalore and Mangalore airports do not get any direct flights from East African countries, the step has been taken as a precautionary measure. Direct flights from the region land in Delhi and Mumbai, where screening has already started.

 An official press release said the screening was taken up as per the direction of Union Health Ministry. A 15-bed special ward has been opened at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases (RGICD) in Bangalore to treat people having these symptoms, the release added.Ebola spreads through sweat, saliva, blood, sperm, urine and other ways. Fever, headache, fatigue and diarrhoea are some of its symptoms. 

Khader also said the State has decided to make the treatment of Haemophilia a budgeted programme. It will be implemented through Haematology department of Bangalore Medical College. The department will implement an online system to provide treatment to the disease in all medical colleges of the state. Indira Gandhi Child Labour Centre in Bangalore will take charge of providing treatment for the patients aged below 18 years.