The government today said that no case of any confirmed or suspected case of Ebola virus disease has been reported so far in the country.

Talking exclusively to All India Radio, Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan allayed fears about the disease saying that there is no need to panic as all precautionary measures are in place. He said, his Ministry, in collaboration with the Ministries of External Affairs and Civil Aviation, is keeping a close watch on travellers coming from West African countries where the disease has been reported. Dr Vardhan said that the good thing is that the disease does not spread through airborne transmission but a person gets infected either from infected animals or from persons when they come in close contact with infected body fluids.

Elaborating on the mechanism put in place to deal with the disease, Dr Vardhan said that specialised helplines have been set up in the Health Ministry to disseminate information about the symptoms of the disease and its diagnosis. He said, in addition to it, beds have been reserved in hospitals to keep the patient in isolation.

The Minister said,all states have been alerted about the virus and they have been asked to identify Nodal Officers and designate hospitals with isolation wards for responding to any possible case.