'India need not be too concerned about Ebola'

Thiruvanthapuram, April 19: India need not be too concerned about the current Ebola outbreak but the country must be prepared to deal with any contingency in the event of an unexpected outbreak of such diseases, said an expert. Delivering a lecture at a conference organised by the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB) here on Friday, Thomas Hoenen, a virology expert of the US-based tiol Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) said, none can predict which is the next big epidemic that is going to hit us. “Though we have succeeded in containing Ebola outbreak, we cannot simply sit and watch as the presence of disease causing microbes can be seen anywhere in the world,” Hoenen, who was a part of the medical team that worked in the Ebola-hit parts of Africa, said. Experts have instructed those in the Ebola-affected regions to follow safer sex practices in order to curb disease transmission, he said.

He also said that the researchers have now developed new medical procedures to diagnose the disease and have come up with treatments to curb its transmission. “Poor healthcare facilities and delay in detecting the disease were main reasons behind the high number of fatalities in the West African countries including Liberia. (IANS)