Ahmedabad/Gandhinagar, May 27 (IANS). Gujarat health authorities have quarantined four people, including a businessman who recently returned from Africa, as a precautionary measure in view of reports of Ebola outbreak in Uganda and Congo. State Health Minister Praful Pansheriya gave this information on Wednesday.
The minister said that 37-year-old businessman Amori Lokola reached Mumbai about five to seven days ago and then went to Vadodara.
On reaching Vadodara, the businessman was admitted to Banker Hospital due to fever.
Based on information received by the state health department, he was shifted to Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, where a separate isolation ward for Ebola has been created.
Minister Pansheriya said that currently patients are appearing in African countries like Uganda and Congo and the virus is spreading there. The World Health Organization has issued specific guidelines for countries around the world.
He further informed that two other persons traveling with Lokola, Patrick Kaza and Valentin Jodal, have also been admitted to separate isolation wards at SVP Hospital in Ahmedabad.
Dr Sunil Musana, who came in professional contact with him, has also been quarantined as a precautionary measure.
The minister said that there has been no confirmation yet, so there is no need to panic. It has not been confirmed that this is a case of Ebola virus.
He further informed that the patients will remain in quarantine for 10 to 11 days and the blood samples have been sent to Pune for testing.
He said that we will know after the report comes. Earlier also we had quarantined a similar person and sent samples for testing, but that report came negative.
Minister Pansheriya stressed that there is not a single confirmed case of Ebola in Gujarat or India and said that these measures are purely precautionary as these people had come from affected countries.
He said that only as a precautionary measure, if any patient coming from those countries has mild fever, cold or cough, we are keeping a close watch so that the infection does not spread anywhere else.
The minister further said that the condition of the patients is stable and they are under medical observation.
–IANS
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