Damodar Raja Narasimha – A total of 58 passengers who arrived at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) from Ebola-affected countries Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and South Sudan have been put under 21-day home isolation as part of Telangana’s preventive measures, Health Minister C. Damodar Raja Narasimha said on Tuesday. During the review meeting, officials told the minister that so far no passengers have shown symptoms of Ebola.

All 58 persons have been classified under Category-I and are being continuously monitored by district surveillance teams. The minister said that till date no case of Ebola has been reported in Telangana and appealed to the public not to panic. “The government is keeping a close watch and has strengthened precautionary measures at airports and hospitals to prevent any possible outbreak in the state,” he said.

The Minister was informed that passengers coming from Ebola-affected countries are having to undergo stringent checks and thermal scanning at the Hyderabad airport. A dedicated medical team of doctors, health inspectors, field staff and paramedical personnel has been deployed at the airport to monitor the arriving passengers.

‘108’ ambulance is kept ready round the clock to deal with emergencies. As part of the preparedness measures, a dedicated 10-bed isolation ward has been set up at Gandhi Hospital, Secunderabad. Sunil Kumar, head of the department of general medicine, has been appointed the nodal officer for Ebola preparedness.

Samples of suspected Ebola cases are being sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune for testing. The Minister directed the officials to maintain constant vigil and ensure that there is no negligence in monitoring the passengers. He said any person showing symptoms of Ebola should be immediately shifted to the isolation ward of Gandhi Hospital.