Health authorities in India are taking precautions to watch out for Ebola at major airports like Kochi and Chennai. This is because there is a lot of worry around the world about the Ebola outbreak that is spreading in some parts of Africa.
The people in charge of health in India are doing this because the World Health Organisation said that the Ebola outbreak is a deal and that it is a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. This means that many countries are being more careful about who’s coming into their country and making sure they are healthy.
At the airport in Kochi, they are watching people closely all the time. The airport people and health authorities had a meeting to make sure they are ready for anything. They want to catch any symptoms of Ebola and be able to work together if someone might be sick.
Now, when people come to India from other countries, they have to do a few things. They have to get their temperature checked, fill out a form that says where they have been and tell people about their travel history for the 21 days. If someone is coming from a country where there is Ebola, like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda or South Sudan, they will be watched more closely.
The hospitals in Ernakulam, Kalamassery and Aluva have rooms for people who might be sick with Ebola.
The airport in Chennai is also telling people who are coming from countries with Ebola to talk to the health officials at the airport before they can go through immigration.
If someone is feeling sick with a fever, vomiting, diarrhoea, weakness, headaches or bleeding, they need to go see a doctor and tell them where they have been travelling.
Healthy people say that Ebola spreads when someone touches the person’s bodily fluids, and it can take anywhere from two to 21 days to get sick. If someone gets Ebola, it can be very bad. They might die.
So far, no one in India has gotten Ebola. The people in charge are just being careful and watching out for it so that it does not spread to India.
