Ebola alert: Karnataka orders statewide vigil across hospitals

Ebola alert: Karnataka orders statewide vigil across hospitals

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, Jun 5, 2026: The Karnataka government has issued a statewide high alert after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the ongoing Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).

The global alert comes amid a surge in Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.

In a circular issued on May 30, the Commissionerate of Health and Family Welfare Services directed all private healthcare facilities, medical college hospitals, and other medical institutions across the state to remain vigilant and maintain a high level of suspicion for Ebola cases. The circular also mandated strict adherence to surveillance, reporting, and infection-control protocols.

Healthcare institutions have been instructed to screen patients presenting with relevant symptoms and travel history, immediately report suspected and probable Ebola cases through the Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP), and promptly notify the respective District Surveillance Officer (DSO). Hospitals have also been asked to maintain detailed records of patients and their contacts, support epidemiological investigations by District Surveillance Units, and strictly follow infection prevention and control measures, including isolation of suspected cases and the use of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE).

According to the guidelines, a suspected Ebola case is any living or deceased person with fever and acute haemorrhagic symptoms—such as bleeding gums, nosebleeds, red eyes, skin rashes, vomiting blood, or bloody/black stools—who has travelled to an affected area within the previous 21 days.

A probable case is defined as a suspected case that has had direct contact with a laboratory-confirmed Ebola patient during the preceding 21 days.

A confirmed case is any suspected or probable patient whose infection has been verified by an ICMR-designated laboratory through tests such as a positive IgM antibody result, positive PCR, or viral isolation.

The circular further defines a contact as an asymptomatic individual who has had physical contact within the past three weeks with an Ebola patient. This includes sharing a room or bed, providing care, exposure to bodily fluids, or participating in burial rites involving direct contact with the deceased.

To strengthen preparedness, the state has designated specific quarantine and treatment facilities. In Bengaluru, the Epidemic Diseases Hospital will function as the quarantine centre, while the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases (RGICD) has been identified as the isolation and treatment facility.

In Mangaluru, Srinivas Port Hospital has been designated as the quarantine facility, while Wenlock Hospital will serve as the isolation and treatment centre.

Officials said that if a suspected Ebola case is detected, District Surveillance Units will collect samples following stringent biosafety protocols. The samples will initially be sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Bengaluru and subsequently forwarded to the ICMR’s National Institute of Virology in Pune for confirmatory testing.