Kerala: Woman from Sudan Under Ebola Watch in Kottayam
She is currently being monitored in a special isolation ward, and a dedicated medical team has been assigned to oversee her care
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A 52-year-old woman from Kerala, who returned from South Sudan on Wednesday, has been admitted to Kottayam Medical College Hospital with suspected Ebola symptoms. After developing a fever, she first sought treatment at a private hospital in Pala.
Considering her travel history, hospital authorities informed the health department, and she was shifted to Kottayam Medical College by Wednesday night. She is now in isolation and under observation at the Infectious Disease Department.
The hospital authorities confirmed she had travelled to Kerala alone, without any companions.
Dr. Netto George Mundadan, assistant professor in the Infectious Disease Department, said health authorities moved the woman to the medical college, with isolation measures already in place. She has fever symptoms and mild vomiting.
Her samples have been sent to the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology in Thiruvananthapuram for testing, with results expected in 48 hours. Next steps will be decided once the results are in. The patient, from Valavoor in Pala, has had her contacts identified, and tracing is underway.
Those who had contact with her are being sent for quarantine, a process that has mostly started. The Kerala government had already implemented strong prevention and monitoring systems in response to the Ebola alert.
Last week, the minister led a high-level meeting to review preventive measures at airports and major hospitals. Passengers arriving from Ebola-affected countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, and South Sudan must follow official guidelines, and anyone with symptoms such as fever, fatigue, headache, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, sore throat, or bleeding should report immediately to airport health officials.
Health teams at airports, seaports, district surveillance units, and medical colleges are working together under central government directives. At Kochi Airport, precautionary protocols have been put in place, with the health surveillance system activated after an emergency preparedness meeting organized by Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) and the Airport Health Organisation (APHO).
