Patna, July 22: In the view of the Ebola outbreak in Congo, the health department in Bihar has prepared guidelines to issue an advisory in the state urging hospitals to identify isolation facility for the life-threatening disease. According to a report by Hindustan Times, the authorities will issue guidelines asking  medical colleges and district hospitals to keep places available for isolation facility for Ebola virus disease (EVD). The Centre, too, had issued an advisory on July 18 urging states to keep vigil for Ebola cases after the recent outbreak in Congo. The World Health Organisation (WHO) had on July 17, declared the situation of Ebola in Congo as public health emergency of international concern. Ebola 2019 Outbreak Declared Global Health Emergency: Fast Facts About Ebola Virus Disease (EDV). 

According to the HT report, a letter from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), ministry of health and family welfare (MoH&FW) advised state surveillance officer to keep constant vigil and raise awareness level and knowledge of surveillance officers. The letter also urged officials to make available healthcare services and basic standard precautions to be followed during the care and treatment of the suspected patients. It also asked states and union territories to identify an isolation facility in each district and medical college. Ebola Death Toll Breaks 1,500 Mark in Democratic Republic of Congo.

Executive director of Bihar’s State Health Society, Manoj Kumar was quoted in the report saying the all the healthcare officials have been asked to stay alert and also ready isolation wards in their respective facilities. “We will ask all districts and medical colleges to immediately notify us if they come across any case of Ebola. We will urge our health officials to keep themselves abreast with the Centre’s instructions on safe handling of human remains of Ebola patients, hospital infection control guidelines, guidelines for sample collection, storage and transportation, guidelines for healthcare provider and guidelines for clinical case management, available on the MoH&FW website,” he said.

In Congo, the disease has been observed since 2018. Till date, 2,522 cases (2,428 confirmed and 94 probable) and 1,698 (1,604 confirmed and 94 probable) deaths have been reported since August 2018 till July 16. The current outbreak in Congo is the second deadliest on record, after an epidemic killed more than 11,300 people in West Africa in 2014-2016.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 22, 2019 10:53 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).