It all started with an alert at the airport in Jaipur where a 19-year-old was flagged for possible Ebola. By Friday, she had been taken to the hospital and a sample was on its way to the lab, per officials. The word from the doctors is to be watchful but not to jump to conclusions; the tests will tell us what to do next.
“We don’t have a confirmed case of Ebola right now,” says Dr Anil Gupta, superintendent at RUHS. “You can’t make that call on symptoms alone.” He is putting out a message to hold off on any panic until the paperwork from the lab comes in.
What we know so far
The state health department says the woman was picked up by a medical team doing their rounds at Jaipur airport earlier. A tourist when she arrived, she was quickly brought to the Rajasthan University of Health Sciences hospital.
She’s in a critical care block in isolation, you’ll hear from the hospital and health officials. They’re on top of it and following the book on how to handle this.
On the testing front
Dr Mohnish Grover, the principal at RUHS, has sent one of the patient’s samples to Pune. Another one will go over in 48 hours to be sure.
She’s in quarantine for the time being. “Should the test come back positive, we’ll be looking at 21 days of quarantine and the treatment that goes with it,” Dr Grover said, which is the usual procedure for something of this nature.
How she was found
She made her way to Jaipur from Sharjah on an Air Arabia flight. That’s when the state health team put a marker on her as a potential case during their screening.
Once they made the call to escalate on Friday, the rest of the protocol was put in motion.
What the doctors are seeing
For the last month or so, the patient has had some abdominal pain and hasn’t been in the mood to eat. Lately, she’s been down with a headache as well.
But as the medical staff will tell you, a number of things can present like Ebola in the beginning. You need the kind of lab work we’ve sent to Pune to be certain.
To those who were on the same plane
We’ve put out a word to the other passengers to be on the safe side. The advice from health authorities is to self-isolate at home while we get to the bottom of this.
Here is the rundown of what is being done, according to the people in charge:
– She is isolated at RUHS
– One sample is with the lab in Pune
– A follow-up in 48 hours
– We wait for the results before anything else
– 21-day quarantine if it is what we think it is
– Home for the co-passengers
– Monitoring as per our rules
The priority right now is to contain, clarify and take care of the patient. She is in the hospital and we will have more to say once the lab has its say. In the meantime, we’re asking for some restraint and to stick to what is coming from us officially.
