No Ebola Case in India, Says Health Minister Harsh Vardhan

New Delhi: Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan has said that there is no suspected case of Ebola in India, one of the deadliest diseases known to man.

"We are carefully screening all passengers coming from Ebola infected countries at the airport itself. As of today there is no suspected case of Ebola in India," the health minister said in Indore.

All but one of the people who arrived in India since Monday night from Ebola-hit Liberia have tested negative for the virus. One person, who is suffering from a sore throat and fever, has been kept quarantined in Delhi. Altogether, 112 people from Liberia had returned to India since Monday night. Strong precautionary measures were put in place at airports in Delhi and Mumbai, with them being equipped to screen those arriving from and around Liberia.

Aircraft were taken first to a remote bay and the passengers were screened at the step-ladder exit. A thermal scanner was used to determine whether any passenger has a fever. It was also checked if a passenger had come in contact with someone who has had Ebola Virus Disease or EVD. Such passengers were isolated and taken to hospital for further tests.

The passengers had been screened in at least three countries - Liberia, South Africa and United Arab Emirates or Ethiopia, where the flights halted - before they landed in India.