India Issues Nationwide Ebola Preparedness Directive After WHO Declares PHEIC — Union Health Secretary's Guidance

<p>The <span class="key-term" data-definition="World Health Organization — United Nations agency responsible for international public health coordination (GS3: Health)">WHO</span> declared the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda a <span class="key-term" data-definition="Public Health Emergency of International Concern — a formal declaration by WHO signalling a serious health risk that may spread across borders (GS3: Health)">PHEIC</span> on <strong>17 May 2026</strong>. In response, the Union Health Ministry, through <strong>Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava</strong>, sent a directive to all States and Union Territories to tighten surveillance, hospital readiness and rapid response mechanisms.</p> <h3>Key Developments</h3> <ul> <li>States must intensify surveillance under the <span class="key-term" data-definition="Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme — a national system for early detection of disease outbreaks and monitoring (GS3: Health)">IDSP</span> for unusual fever clusters, especially among travellers from the affected African regions.</li> <li>Symptoms flagged as warning signs include fever, weakness, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhoea, stomach pain, rash and red eyes.</li> <li>Designated isolation facilities and dedicated ambulances with infection‑prevention measures are to be identified.</li> <li>Health facilities must ensure adequate stocks of <span class="key-term" data-definition="Personal Protective Equipment — gear such as masks, gloves and gowns that protect health workers from infection (GS3: Health)">PPE</span>, trained staff and laboratory support.</li> <li>The <span class="key-term" data-definition="National Institute of Virology — ICMR’s premier virology lab in Pune that conducts testing for high‑risk pathogens (GS3: Health)">NIV</span>, Pune, will continue to test samples from suspected Ebola cases; additional ICMR labs may be mobilised as needed.</li> <li>States are to set up coordination mechanisms linking NIV, airport/port health authorities, State and District Surveillance Units.</li> <li>Refresher training for healthcare workers, field staff and <span class="key-term" data-definition="Rapid Response Teams — multidisciplinary groups ready to investigate, contain and manage disease outbreaks (GS3: Health)">RRTs</span> will be conducted.</li> </ul> <h3>Important Facts</h3> <p>• The outbreak is confined to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, but neighboring countries such as South Sudan are at high risk of transmission.</p> <p>• The Ministry’s Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) outlines steps for case detection, sample collection, storage and referral.</p> <p>• The advisory stresses the need for robust infection‑prevention practices: triage, isolation protocols, hand hygiene, environmental cleaning and biomedical waste management.</p> <p>• Public communication is highlighted to curb misinformation and panic.</p> <h3>UPSC Relevance</h3> <p>The d