Written By: Shraddha Rupavate | Published : October 30, 2014 10:41 AM IST
Health Minister Harsh Vardhan had mentioned earlier that India is all set and prepared to tackle the deadly Ebola virus disease in case an emergency occurs. However, one of the biggest challenges that has been overlooked is the prevailing poor sanitation conditions that would make containment extremely difficult, pointed out co-discover of Ebola virus Peter Piot.
According to Piot, apart from poor sanitation, the dense population in India will make it difficult for the government to isolate patients and trace their contacts. Although the government is making efforts to strengthen screening measures at international airports and all possible entry points and training its medical faculty, Piot feels that these challenges would make containment of the virus more difficult in India compared to other countries. (Read: Latest Ebola News: Has the Ebola virus really come to India?)
Here are five reasons why ebola in India is a very scary scenario:
High rate of spread
The virus seems to spread very quickly from one human to another and it can spread through body fluids like blood, saliva, stool, urine, sweat, etc. This makes it extremely dangerous in a densely populated country like ours where it s easy to catch the virus while travelling, in offices or in any other public area. The disease can also spread through soiled clothing, bed linen or used needles.
High fatality rate
According to the WHO, EVD (Ebola Virus Disease) outbreaks have a fatality rate of 90%. Currently, there is no licensed treatment or vaccine for the disease, either for humans or animals. The only way to treat patients is to place them in ICUs and that too is very dangerous for healthcare workers or anyone coming in contact with the victims. Read more about 5 reasons the ebola virus should never come to India
Photo source: Getty images
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