The only whiff of Ebola that Goa has had are two visitors who arrived on Qatar Airways who were referred to the health services department by the isolation center at Cottage hospital. These are category one. The Screening was done. None have symptoms and none have any contact with patients.
“They had no symptoms. We have kept an eye on them,” Dr Betodkar said, reiterating that they have still got no instances of Ebola positive symptoms, but are keeping a watch. The big ask is who really is keeping watch and whether the health services fraternity, at least in the government are sensitized to the disease, its impact and it handling.
According to a section of senior specialists in the Goa Medical College there has been no multi sectoral involvement in preparation, public and private health workers have not been appraised about Ebola through workshops and written material and the social media has just not been used for updates on Ebola status should be put up on the directorate of health services
“We have an isolation centre at the Chicalim Cottage Hospital, says health services state epidemiologist, Dr Utkarsh Betodkar, stressing that the government is following all the directions from the centre.
There is a health officer under the Airport Authorities stationed at Dabolim. He screens all the passengers who come from the designated areas as well as checks out the history – from where they have arrived. “We also check whether the suspected traveller has transited through the indicated Ebola countries. These are kept a watch on,” he says. “Normal incubation period is 21 days, but we keep an eye on them for 30 days,” said Dr Betodkar.
GMC sources say that though the health services are the nodal agency in this, a meeting was held with all the doctors where all information and discussions on various measures was held.
According to health department officials, they have a tie up with the Delhi. However no samples have been sent there. There are no direct flights from any of the indicated countries. And if any person has been referred from Mumbai an eye is kept on him. As far as the Nigerians go, though it is an indicated country, those who are here even before the alert was announced by WHO are not at risk.
According to Dr L Chavan president of Indian Association of Epidemiologists the only thing that can be done is to keep the patient in isolation. He also said that nobody has tested positive in the country as yet though some 200 blood samples have been sent for testing to the two centre’s, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, Delhi and the National Institute of Virology, Pune.
