Rajasthan: Ugandan tourist isolated with Ebola-like symptoms tests negative
Jaipur, June 7
The test report of a Ugandan woman, who was admitted to a hospital in Jaipur after exhibiting Ebola-like symptoms, has returned negative for the Ebola virus, Rajasthan health authorities said.
According to the Rajasthan Public Health department, the woman, who had arrived in Rajasthan from Uganda as a tourist, was admitted to RUHS Hospital in Jaipur and kept in isolation as a precautionary measure after she developed symptoms resembling those associated with Ebola.
Her samples were sent to a specialised laboratory in Pune for examination. The test report received from Pune confirmed that the woman had not contracted the Ebola virus.
On Thursday, a Sudanese national who arrived at Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) was isolated and shifted to Gandhi Hospital, Secunderabad, after airport health officials detected fever during thermal screening of international passengers, according to a Gandhi Hospital official. The samples of the patient have been collected and have been sent to the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) for testing.
The Central Government has advised citizens to avoid non-essential travel to Congo, Uganda and South Sudan.
In light of the reported outbreaks of Ebola Disease in Congo and Uganda, the World Health Organization (WHO), under the International Health Regulations (IHR), 2005, on May 17, 2026, determined the situation to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has also officially declared the ongoing outbreak of Bundibugyo strain Ebola Virus Disease affecting the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda as a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security (PHECS).
— ANI
Reader Comments
Impressive response from Rajasthan health authorities. Glad it was negative for Ebola. But makes you think how much we rely on international travel screening. Hope they did proper contact tracing too.
Thank God the results were negative! 🎉 Our medical teams are doing great work. That said, we need to be more cautious with tourists from affected regions. Better safe than sorry, yaar!
Smart move to isolate and test quickly. Pune's lab did a good job. But I worry about the mental stress for that woman—being isolated with Ebola fears must be terrifying. Hope she's treated with dignity.
No need to panic. Our health system is capable of handling such cases. But the government should also screen tourists more thoroughly at entry points, especially from countries with outbreaks. Prevention is better than cure.
The WHO PHEIC declaration is a global wake-up call. This case shows India's readiness to handle such situations. But I'm curious—why wasn't the woman tested before leaving Uganda? Airlines need to be more responsible.
Relief that it's negative but let's not let our guard down. The Hyderabad case shows this is ongoing. I appreciate the quick response by RUHS and the central advisory. However, we need more public awareness campaigns about symptoms.