Ebola in India: Japanese tourist in Manipur suspected with Ebola

A Japanese tourist in Manipur is suspected to have contracted the deadly Ebola virus infection. Kawakubo Yuko, 27-year-old, had already visited five countries and had stayed over in a hotel at Imphal.

By: Shraddha Rupavate | | Updated: October 7, 2014 4:37 pm

A Japanese tourist in Manipur is suspected to have contracted the deadly Ebola virus infection. Kawakubo Yuko, 27-year-old, had already visited five countries and had stayed over in a hotel at Imphal. Also Read - Ganesh Chaturthi 2020: 4 reasons an eco-friendly Ganesha is good for you

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She had taken road-route from Myanmar to reach Manipur. Soon after reaching Imphal, she developed Ebola-like symptoms and was shifted to a private hospital in Imphal. According to the doctors, her blood samples are sent for testing at the National Institute of Virology, Pune. Also Read - Ebola Virus Disease: Some unknown facts associated with it

For better medical care, she was then sent to in J.N. Institute of Medical Sciences in Imphal, where according to hospital staff, she was kept in isolation. They also mentioned that she might be shifted to Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, Imphal if the test results turn out to be positive.

All other local tests for some common ailments having similar symptoms were reported negative. Test results for Ebola are still awaited. Although it’s not known whether she had travelled to any of the Ebola-hit nations in West Africa earlier, until the Ebola test is reported negative nothing can be concluded.

Here are reasons Ebola should never come to India

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.

No natural immunity

Unlike the African countries where ebola outbreaks have occurred before, the disease if it arrives is completely new in India which means that we have no natural immunity against the virus. Our internal body system has never experienced anything like the ebola virus and won t know how to fight it. (Read: Ebola virus causes, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, prognosis and prevention)

Take this 60-second Ebola quiz and save your life!

Image source: Getty images

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Published : October 6, 2014 1:10 pm | Updated:October 7, 2014 4:37 pm

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