Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Ebola - Thermal scanners at Pune, Nagpur airports not yet functional

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Ebola in IndiaIn September, activist Ketan Tirodkar had filed a PIL with an allegation that India is not yet fully ready to prevent Ebola spread, as more and more people are coming to India from Ebola hit countries, and they are arriving at airports in Pune and Nagpur where Ebola screening facilities are not available.


Following the PIL, the Bombay High Court ordered Maharashtra Government to arrange necessary screening facilities at Pune and Nagpur airport. The screening facilities were soon in place but are yet not functional.



Today, the Bombay High Court asked the state government to file an ‘action taken report’ on October 14 mentioning the provision of Ebola screening equipment at Nagpur and Pune airports. The order was passed by a bench headed by Justice Abhay Oka.


According to Rui Rodrigues, the counsel for the Union government, the scanners arranged at the airports are defective. They have developed a snag and have not been repaired yet. ‘The scanner at Nagpur was not operational as the formalities required for its functioning had not been completed,’ Rodrigues said.


The High court had, however, ordered to ensure that both the provided scanners were made functional immediately and asked it to file an ‘action taken report’ after a week.


According to the last update, the Centre had informed the High court that the scanners had been shifted to Pune and Nagpur from Hyderabad and Goa airports, and would be made functional within a week. But the give time period has already expired.


Early symptoms of Ebola


Fever: Increase in body temperature is the first defence mechanism that the body uses to kill any foreign particle invading the body. When Ebola infects the body, it causes a release of various compounds like cytokines and histamines that pass on the signals of increasing body temperature. In fact, Ebola virus disease is also called the Ebola haemorrhagic fever, where the temperature can go above 38.6°C or 101.5°F.


Headache: It is the most common symptom of Ebola infection after fever, present in almost 96 percent of the cases. Nausea and headache along with fever present a typical case of common cold and flu. At this stage, the symptoms can be confused with other common infections.


Stomach pain: A few viral particles invade the liver and starts destroying the hepatocytes. New virions start damaging the intestinal cells causing abdominal pain.


Drop in blood pressure: The cytokines and histamines released by the immune cells, soon after the entry of the virus in the body, increases the permeability of the cells lining the blood vessels. This causes leakage of water from the blood into the surrounding tissues and a sudden drop in blood pressure.


Image source: Getty


With inputs from PTI


 


Ebola - Thermal scanners at Pune, Health News, health tips, Nagpur airports not yet functionalDiseases & Conditions, Ebola virus, Health
Ebola - Thermal scanners at Pune, Nagpur airports not yet functional

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