Quarantined Indian's samples found negative for Ebola; 117 under observation in Kerala

New Delhi, Nov 22: The Indian man, who had travelled to Liberia and got infected with Ebola but cured, continues to be symptom free and his tests for the killer virus have been found negative, an official statement said Saturday.

"The 26-year-old male, Indian, who had undergone Ebola treatment in Liberia, is presently quarantined at Airport Health Organization Quarantine Centre, New Delhi," the statement said.

"His urine and saliva samples were tested at National Centre for Disease Control Nov 21 and have been found negative for Ebola Virus," it added.

Union Health and Family Welfare Secretary Lov Verma held a video conference with principal secretaries, health, of states and union territories to discuss measures against the disease.

"The need to strengthen surveillance at ports and airports was emphasized. States were informed that central teams would again be visiting designated ports and airports to review the passenger screening," the statement added.

Kerala Keeps Strict Vigil on Ebola, 117 Under Observation

Keeping a strict vigil on the people arriving in Thiruvananthapuram from Ebola-hit regions, Kerala has kept under observation as many as 117 passengers arriving in Thiruvananthapuram from deadly virus-hit African nations.

According to state Health Department officials, 680 incoming passengers, who arrived at various airports and seaports in the state from Ebola-hit regions, have been examined since August 12.

Of them, 563 were confirmed as "not infected" after 30 days observation and the rest 117 were under observation, said Amar Fettle, the state nodal officer for Ebola screening.

"We have screened passengers who arrived from African countries like Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.Though Nigeria has now been taken off the surveillance list, we continue to examine those coming from there also. So far, no positive case has been reported anywhere in the state," Mr Fettle told PTI.

Detailing Kerala's preparedness to tackle Ebola, he said the state has already put in place a strong surveillance network at airports and seaports.

"We have basic isolation care units at all three airports. Besides this, tertiary care units have also been set up at medical college and general hospitals in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Kottayam and Kozhikode. We also have home-surveillance system to monitor the persons under observation," he said.

The health department's rapid response teams were also ready to tackle all emergency situations, the officer said.

The deadly Ebola virus has claimed a large number of lives in Africa and in some other parts of the world.

PTI