Bengaluru: A Ugandan visitor quarantined in Bengaluru on suspicion of Ebola has tested negative for the virus, India’s health ministry said on Wednesday, though officials did not immediately confirm whether she would be released from isolation, Reuters reported.
“The test result has returned negative for Ebola virus disease,” the ministry said in a statement on the Bengaluru case. The 28-year-old woman, who arrived in Bengaluru from Ahmedabad after travelling from Uganda, was quarantined as a precaution, authorities said.
Dr Anil Kumar Banagar, medical superintendent at the hospital where she was isolated, said the woman did not show symptoms. The health ministry, however, reported she had experienced mild body ache.
The case came a day after Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda convened a meeting to review India’s preparedness to tackle the disease, which the World Health Organization has declared a public health emergency of international concern.
India has stepped up screening and surveillance at airports and other entry points, issued advisories on precautions, and urged citizens to avoid non-essential travel to Congo, Uganda, and South Sudan.
The India-Africa Forum Summit, due to be held this week in New Delhi, was postponed amid concerns over the outbreak in Africa, officials said.
The WHO has confirmed 101 cases among more than 900 globally suspected of the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment, the agency has said.
