Ebola outbreak: How ready is india?

First, there was a fever, along with headaches, diarrhoea, and muscle ache. Few people, or the doctors they visited, paid much attention: the symptoms suggested nothing that couldn’t be handled with paracetamol and immodium. But then came the tremors, mental confusion, seizures and coma. Every third person who developed the symptoms was headed towards a sudden death. Within weeks, the toll had reached 300.

As India faces the prospect of being hit by the global Ebola epidemic, last year’s outbreak of Japanese Encephalitis stands as a grim reminder of ground realities. The central government has announced a slew of measures to protect citizens from the feared disease — and yet, the country remains short on protective equipment, testing labs and professional training.

POOR INFRASTRUCTURE

The long, dark corridors of Delhi’s Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, packed with thousands of patients and their families, will be the frontline of India’s defences if Ebola hits. In August, an insolation intensive care unit opened on the first floor of the hospital’s old block, earlier used for H1N1 swine flu cases.

But it isn’t quite ready. Nurses who have read of two colleagues in the US who fell ill caring for a critically-ill Ebola patient, are worried. The National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has issued guidelines, but those don’t seem to have had much impact. “We do not have respirators, and we have never worn goggles,” a nurse told The Indian Express. “And we have no experience with the virus. We have met the nursing superintendent and asked for classes.”

From October 19, healthcare professionals from around the country will begin to be trained in handling Ebola. They are then expected to disseminate the information to personnel in the states. Health workers have, however, voiced concerns over the lack of protective equipment such as hazardous-material suits, masks and goggles. The Health Ministry said on Thursday that 50,000 kits purchased by the Centre would be distributed to the states, but it remains unclear how long the distribution process will take.

The World Health Organisation has already warned that India’s problems could be compounded by the fact that Ebola’s early symptoms resemble those of dengue and malaria, common across large parts of the country in the next two months.

“We just can’t isolate every patient who shows up with fever, diahorrea or vomitting, which are all non-specific viral symptoms that could indicate any seasonal disease, or Ebola,” said a scientist with the NCDC.