3 Nigerian passengers rushed to RGICD over Ebola scare

They had arrived from Abuja; discharged later from hospital

Three Nigerian nationals were packed off to the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases (RGICD) late on Monday night shortly after they arrived at the Kempegowda International Airport. All the three had recorded a slight increase in body temperature.

Sources in the RGICD said that the three from the Nigerian capital Abuja were rushed to the hospital though they neither showed any symptoms typical of having contacted the Ebola virus nor recorded high temperature. “The patients were immediately monitored by a team of experts,” the source added.

The patients, including a couple (of whom the man is aged around 60) and a 20-year-old nursing student, were taken to the hospital around 11.30 pm on Monday. “A team of doctors attended to them. Experts from the National Institute of Virology also examined them,” the source said.

Dr Geetha Nyamagoudar, director, Department of Health and Family Welfare, told Deccan Herald on Tuesday that there was no reason to panic and that all the three were recovering.

The 60-year-old man, a retired judicial officer, had flown in as he is believed to have had an appointment with doctors at the Fortis Hospital, she said. The 20-year-old student had sought admission at a nursing school in Davangere.

The Nigerians were suspected to have contacted the Ebola virus as they recorded body temperature around 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and were taken to the RGICD as a precaution. “We have their contact numbers. They were discharged on Tuesday morning after thorough examination. They are completely alright,” Dr Nyamagoudar said.
The 20-year-old later left for Davangere while the couple stayed put in Bangalore.

Minister seeks clarity

Minister for Health and Family Welfare U T Khader has written to the Union Health Minister Dr Harash Vardhan seeking clarity on the guidelines for Ebola screening.

The Centre, in response, assured that strict screening would be done at Delhi and Mumbai airports. “We also understand that further measures would be taken to educate the masses about the virus and its symptoms,” Khader said. The minister further said that with the disease not being specific to India, there was not much awareness about it. “I have proposed that a centre be set up in the country specifically for the treatment of Ebola,” he added.

DH News Service