Gujarat businessman in isolation tests negative for Ebola; minister asks public not to panic

A suspected Ebola case admitted to an isolation ward in Ahmedabad has tested negative for the virus, Gujarat Minister of State for Health Praful Pansheriya said on Thursday, while urging people not to panic over rumours circulating on social media.

The patient had been admitted to Ahmedabad Civil Hospital after returning from Congo, prompting health authorities to activate precautionary Ebola response measures in line with central government guidelines.

According to Pansheriya, blood samples of the patient were sent to a laboratory in Pune for testing, and the results confirmed that the individual was not infected with the Ebola virus.

“We admitted a suspected patient to the Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad. Ebola virus treatment is provided there, and we created a special ward for him,” the minister said in a post on X.

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He added that two businessmen who had travelled with the patient were also tested as a precaution, and their reports too returned negative. “They were coming from Congo. Therefore, we took this seriously. We have followed the Central Government’s SOP and guidelines,” Pansheriya said.

The minister said the state government had already prepared dedicated Ebola isolation wards at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital and Surat Civil Hospital to handle any potential emergency.

Officials said the patient’s health condition is currently stable, and the accompanying travellers are also healthy.

Pansheriya appealed to citizens to avoid misinformation and rely only on official communication issued by the Gujarat health department.

“I posted the tweet to tell everyone not to pay attention to rumours,” he said.

The Ebola virus disease is a severe and often fatal illness caused by infection with one of the Ebola virus species. It spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids of infected individuals or contaminated materials. India has previously maintained strict surveillance protocols for travellers arriving from countries experiencing Ebola outbreaks.

India sends medical supplies to Congo

India has sent emergency pharmaceutical supplies to support efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak in Congo, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday.

In a social media post, Ethiopia-headquartered Africa CDC said the consignment, donated by India, was received in Uganda by its Eastern Africa Regional Coordinating Centre.

The supplies include essential diagnostics, therapeutics, infection prevention and control materials, and case management support, which will be deployed to affected communities in eastern DR Congo, it said.

With inputs from agencies