NEW DELHI, MAY 21 — Central health authorities have instituted strict screening guidelines at international airports for inbound passengers arriving from designated high-risk African nations, ordering immediate health reporting prior to customs clearance to counter potential regional transmission.
The Directorate General of Health Services issued the comprehensive protocol following an official assessment by the World Health Organization that categorized the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, and South Sudan as hot zones for the virus. Under the fresh guidelines, travelers transiting through or arriving directly from these regions must present themselves to border medical officers if they exhibit active symptoms or possess a documented exposure history.
The Union Health Ministry clarified that no cases have been recorded domestically, emphasizing that the escalated airport surveillance operates strictly as a preventive containment measure.
“Passengers who have travelled from countries reporting Ebola Disease and are experiencing symptoms must take immediate action,” the health directorate stated in its public notification. “Passengers who had direct contact with blood or body fluids of a person suspected or confirmed to have Ebola Disease must immediately report to the airport health officer or health desk before immigration clearance.”
The directive outlines specific physiological indicators for terminal screening staff to track, including acute fever, muscle pain, intense fatigue, vomiting, diarrhea, and unprovoked hemorrhaging.
“Any traveller developing the above symptoms within 21 days of arrival should immediately seek medical care and inform healthcare authorities about their travel history,” the advisory noted, adding that inbound passengers must fully comply with state screening measures in accordance with International Health Regulations.
The border enforcement follows an emergency national coordination meeting led by Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava, who reviewed institutional isolation layouts with regional health secretaries. The ministry has already distributed operational standard operating procedures to state medical departments, mapping out specific pathways for pre-arrival tracking, specialized laboratory testing, and hospital quarantine management.
