Bombay High Court directs state and Central government to give details on preventive measures taken against spread of Ebola virus

Bombay High Court on Thursday directed the state and Central government to give information regarding preventive measures taken against the spread of the Ebola virus in India. The court also asked the External Affairs Ministry to submit details regarding the steps taken by it.

The court gave the direction while hearing a PIL filed by RTI activist Ketan Tirodkar, seeking to know the preparedness of the government to deal with the virus.

WHO has declared the Ebola epidemic as an international health emergency. The Geneva-based UN health agency said the possible consequences of a further international spread of the outbreak, which has killed almost 1,400 people in four West African countries, were "particularly serious" in view of the virulence of the virus.

At least 79 Indian nationals returned from Ebola-hit Liberia on Tuesday,  but all of them were found healthy and none had any symptoms of the disease.

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The 79 Indians were part of group of 112 Indian nationals working with Afcons in Liberia who are being brought back by the International SOS (ISOS) Organisation on the request of Afcons.

Of the 112, four are from Delhi, 54 from Maharashtra, 12 from West Bengal, 10 from Bihar, seven from Uttar Pradesh, five from Tamil Nadu, four from Andhra Pradesh, three each from Kerala, Odisha and Gujarat, two each from Karnataka, Haryana and Punjab and one each from Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh.