Kottayam: A woman who had returned from South Sudan has been shifted to Kottayam Medical College for an Ebola test after she developed a fever, health officials said on Thursday. The woman has been admitted to an isolation ward at the hospital, officials added on.
The woman approached a private hospital in Pala here on Wednesday with fever. Considering her recent arrival from the African country, the private hospital informed the Health Department, which then decided to shift her to the Kottayam Medical College, officials said.
Blood samples of the woman have been collected and sent to a laboratory to determine whether she has been infected with the Ebola virus, officials said.
The Health Department had already issued an alert to hospitals across Kerala regarding Ebola cases abroad and decided to monitor people arriving from African countries.
Ebola is a severe and often fatal viral disease that spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people or contaminated materials. Symptoms include fever, vomiting, diarrhoea and, in severe cases, internal and external bleeding.
Countries in Africa are currently battling a large-scale Ebola outbreak, with health authorities reporting new infections and deaths in affected provinces.
-With agency inputs from PTI
