ALUVA: A 10-year-old girl from Nigeria was detained at the Nedumbassery airport on suspicion of possible Ebola infection.
“The girl, who had arrived from Dubai on an Emirates flight, showed certain traits which were consistent with the guidelines issued to us. Following the standard protocol, we admitted her to the Ernakulam General Hospital for Ebola tests,” the airport authorities has said.
“Fever is the first symptom we look for in people coming from Ebola-affected countries. In addition to wheezing, the girl had high temperature, which prompted us to seek further investigation,” said a health officer at the airport.
A general health alert has been declared at the airport on all passengers who arrive from African countries where Ebola cases have been reported.
No Reason to Panic: Nodal officer
Kochi: Dr Amar Fettle, the State Nodal officer for Ebola, said that there was no reason to panic. “We are not expecting the results to be positive. The child developed fever and we are examining the samples for technical reasons. Nigeria has been declared Ebola-free for the past four months by the World Health Organisation. Though Nigeria was one of the the four African countries under the Ebola threat, now the number of cases is comparatively low there,” the official said. He said that the results of the test would be available by Tuesday evening. “I have learnt that the Air India flight on Monday was cancelled. Hence, the samples will be taken on Tuesday’s flight to the National Centre for Disease Control, New Delhi,” Dr Amar said.
