Ebola Reached India, Killed an Infected Person: Facts

Story:

Ebola in India:

Ebola reached Karnataka unfortunately!! Infected poor Sreejith-M Tech, NIT Surathkal, expired today. Please take precautions against this virus and spread the awareness!!. Friends plz eat Tulsi leaves to safeguard yourself from this virus ebola becz this virus directly effects the human immune system. Tulsi leaves good for the immune system so this is a precaution to save u from Ebola virus….

Other Versions

Ebola virus Spreaded in mumbai toooo Use hot water and salt to take your bath in the morning, do the same when you want to drink water(hot and salt) . … It is said to be a traditional vaccine for Ebola. Please don’t keep this information to yourself send to all your contacts including your enemies. God bless you as you share this.

Picture about Ebola Reached India, Killed an Infected Person — Ebola Reached India, Killed an Infected Person

Analysis:

The message shared widely on WhatsApp and elsewhere on social networking sites claims to report the deadly virus Ebola has reached India — that an infected person in Karnataka, Sreejith-M Tech of NIT Surathkal, has died. Another version of the story said Ebola virus spread to Mumbai too, and the messages suggest traditional remedies as vaccines to the virus. Let us analyze whether these claims are facts or hoaxes.

As told above, the message originated on WhatsApp and went viral by 17th August 2014, to create panic in Karnataka, Mumbai and eventually all over India. The said student from the National Institute of Technology, Karnataka (NITK) at Surathkal, in fact, had lung disease, as confirmed by doctors. Irritated at these hoax warnings, Karnataka Health Minister U T Khader asked the District Health Officer (DHO) of Dakshina Kannada to lodge a complaint against the pranksters with the cyber cell police in Bangalore under Information Technology Act. The minister affirmed that strict actions would be taken against the people who misuse networking sites to spread fear.

Khader confirmed that the state is taking adequate precautionary measures for preventing Ebola. Also reports say both central and state governments in India are working together on this, screening passengers and tourists coming from the disease originating areas.

So as of this writing, there are no deaths, or reports of any positive cases of Ebola virus disease in India. The said traditional remedies using Tulsi and also hot water to prevent/vaccinate the Ebola disease are not warranted. As pointed by the health minister, sharing such unwarranted, fake warnings will not do any good, but shall spread unnecessary fear among general public.

Some Concerns

Although Ebola virus is not existent in India at this point of time, the people living in remote areas, where living conditions are poor, can be at risk of getting infected from others. There are concerns that the disease can spread to India from the countries where it is rampant, central and West Africa especially. For this reason, travelers to India are closely examined. As reported by NDTV.com on 18 Aug. 2014, a Nigerian woman headed to India died after showing Ebola symptoms. On 20 Aug. 2014, IBNlive.in reported that five persons who arrived at various airports in India from Ebola virus-affected countries were found to have contact history with Ebola cases. The Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) in India is tracking such cases of passengers, whose details are being provided to them by the Airport Health Organization.

Symptoms

Early symptoms of Ebola Virus Disease include fever, rashes, headache, nausea, vomiting and stomach pain. Infected person may also experience symptoms like pain in the lower back, arthritis like pain all over the body, diarrhea and a sore throat.

Precautions

In order to prevent the attack of Ebola virus, maintaining good hygiene is very important. Washing hands well, drinking water from a clean source, cooking meat well are some precautionary measures. Apart from that people should avoid crowded places, or those known to have an outbreak. Most of all, it is important that if you notice any early symptoms, you must visit a doctor immediately.

You can learn everything about the Ebola Virus Disease from website of World Health Organization here, and the global alert and response here.