First Ebola Case in India?

In what is mistaken as the ‘first’ Ebola case in India, an Indian national, who had arrived from Liberia, has shown traces of the deadly virus during regular checkups at the Delhi airport. It’s learnt that the man was cured of Ebola in Liberia and had shown ‘negative’ in the tests. However, his semen said to have the ‘traces’ of virus for which Union Health Ministry decided to ‘quarantine’ him.

The man arrived in Delhi from Liberia on Nov 10 has carried the documents from Liberia stating that he is cured. ‘Although he got cured, the traces of virus in his semen could be transmitted due to sex for up to 90 days from the time of clinical cure. He will be kept under constant observation until the virus is completely out of his body and constant tests will be done during his observation, ‘ said an official in Health ministry. 

‘It is not an Ebola case, he is an Ebola-treated patient who is negative in blood but whose body fluid is positive. He has no symptoms,’ the official said. The current outbreak of Ebola is the worst on record. It has killed at least 5,177 people, mostly in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, according to the latest figures from the WHO.