India steps up surveillance amid global Ebola outbreak | Today’s news
New Delhi: India has stepped up nationwide disease surveillance and hospital preparedness after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Ebola a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), an official familiar with the development said.
In a high-level review meeting chaired by Union Health Minister Punya Salila Srivastava, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare confirmed that no case of Ebola virus disease (EVD) has been detected in the country so far.
The government’s proactive response serves as a preventative measure to ensure preparedness across all states and Union Territories.
According to official situation reports published by the WHO, the global emergency is centered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda and is caused by a rare strain of the Bundibugyo virus.
As of May 2026, WHO has documented more than 500 suspected cases and 130 deaths in DRC, with at least 30 cases already laboratory confirmed.
The outbreak has also raised cross-border concerns, with neighboring Uganda confirming laboratory-confirmed travel-related cases in its capital, Kampala. Public health officials are on high alert due to uncharted transmission chains, high sample positivity rates and the absence of approved vaccines or specific therapeutics for the Bundibugyo strain.
Preventive measures
During a home review meeting attended by health ministers from all states and Union territories, the central government advised all regions to ensure preparedness at all levels. Detailed standard operating procedures (SOPs) were shared across the country. These protocols cover pre- and post-arrival critical screening, quarantine protocols, case management, referral mechanisms and laboratory testing.
The Union Health Minister emphasized the importance of coordinated supervision, timely reporting and preparedness of designated health facilities. All participating ministries and departments have also been sensitized and are implementing appropriate preventive and surveillance measures in close coordination with the Ministry of Health.
The ministry reiterated that India has previous experience in effectively dealing with such situations, including during the 2014 Ebola outbreak in Africa, when similar precautionary measures were successfully implemented. “The Government of India remains fully alert and ready to respond quickly to any emerging situation. There is no need to panic and citizens are advised to continue to follow the official recommendations and updates issued by the health authorities,” the official said.
Rajeev Jayadevan, a public health expert, said: “The Ebola outbreak in Africa is likely to be caused by a new spillover rather than a previously circulating virus, according to the latest report on the genome sequencing of the virus. This Ebola outbreak (caused by the Bundibugyo virus) is different from the previously described Zaire virus and is therefore more difficult to detect (test) and prevent (vaccine).”
“The virus is transmitted to humans from infected animals such as bats, monkeys and apes, usually through contact with blood, body fluids, excrement or raw meat during hunting and slaughtering.”
Mint’s emailed questions to a Health Department spokesman went unanswered.
