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A 32-year-old man suspected to have contracted the deadly Ebola virus was quarantined on his return from Nigeria on Sunday evening. The passenger was directly taken to the designated Bal Thackeray Trauma Care Centre in Jogeshwari, where he has been quarantined.
Airport officials said that he had “bloodshot eyes, a running nose and fever” and was therefore sent to the civic-run hospital. The Emirates passenger, who flew in via Dubai, came from Nigeria, one of four African nations to be affected by the virus. He is the first to be quarantined in the city on the suspicion of having contracted the disease.
Earlier, a Vasai resident was quarantined but he was sent home within a day.
The passenger was screened at Terminal 2 of the international airport before being sent to the Jogeshwari hospital, where 10 beds have been set aside for passengers suspected to have contracted the virus. The airport also has two ambulances parked to ferry suspects to the hospital that was chosen due to its proximity to the airport. All other major hospitals, including KEM, Sion and JJ, have been told to be prepared to tackle cases of Ebola.
BMC epidemiologist Dr Mangala Gomare confirmed that the patient has been quarantined. “We have admitted the patient more on a precautionary basis. He is otherwise asymptomatic or rather does not have any of the classical symptoms of Ebola. His fever is not that high. But we will closely monitor his condition,” she said.
Gomare added that the passenger’s blood samples will be sent to the National Institute of Virology (Pune). “There is no need to panic as of now,” she said.
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