Health screening for Ebola has begun at the Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada airports and the Visakhapatnam seaport, after the Andhra Pradesh government issued an alert on the spread of the virus in several African countries. No case has been found so far.
The Visakhapatnam district administration has activated emergency measures, and incoming travellers and seamen are being checked, besides at the Government hospital here.
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As per MoHWF guidelines, preventive screening for Ebola has been started at Vijayawada airport for International Passengers. All international arrival passengers are requested to fill a self declaration form for travel history.@AAI_Official@MoCA_GoI@AAIRHQSRpic.twitter.com/SUv8UGOOp9
District officials have started review meetings to assess preparedness at the terminals and coordinate screening between the health and aviation departments.
The administration is focusing on travellers who have a recent history of foreign travel. Health and education authorities have prepared a list of travellers from the listed countries.
Representatives of Andhra University and GITAM (Deemed to be University) said about 100 new admissions from African nations were expected for the academic year beginning in June. Authorities are monitoring the arrival schedules, since many travellers, including residents, tourists and students, are expected.
The administration has set up a 30-bed isolation ward at the Government Hospital for Chest and Communicable Diseases here for any emergency.
Sunil Kumar, Superintendent of the chest hospital and nodal officer for Ebola, told The Hindu on Tuesday (May 26, 2026) that a 30-bed quarantine ward had been set up for Ebola cases at the hospital. No case had come in for screening so far, he said.
A crucial sensitisation meeting on preparedness and response for Ebola Virus Disease was successfully conducted with key stakeholders. Collaborative efforts remain our strongest defense in ensuring public health and safety @AAI_Official@AAIRHQSRpic.twitter.com/Y38m52bNa4
“We will screen only people who have a travel history to the African countries. This means they have to go there and come back here,” he said. The admission of students was a separate category, he added. Mr. Sunil said people were sorted into categories A, B, and C for screening. “As per the DMHO orders and the list they send, we screen them here and confirm the result after thorough laboratory tests, as per WHO protocols,” he said.
Surveillance is also being maintained on connecting flights. Travellers from Singapore, or on connecting domestic flights from hubs such as Hyderabad and Bengaluru, are being checked on reaching Visakhapatnam so that no suspected case is missed.
Ebola usually has an acute onset, the main signs being cold, sore throat, high fever, chills, severe body aches and headaches. If unchecked, the condition can worsen quickly, which makes early detection at transit points important for containment and care, Mr. Sunil said.
Apart from Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada, the Department of Health, Medical Education and Family Welfare had planned screening at the Tirupati airport as a precaution. At Vijayawada, the checks are being done at the airport in Gannavaram.
Vijayawada has flights only to Singapore, so only those arrivals are being checked there for now. The flights land on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, airport authorities said, and a team of four medical experts, including a doctor, will screen passengers on these days. Domestic passengers are not being screened.
The screening would continue until the State health department issued further instructions, the authorities said.
On Sunday, the health department had asked those who had recently travelled to the affected countries to watch their health for 30 days and inform the district authorities at once if they developed symptoms.
Published - May 26, 2026 11:38 am IST
Andhra Pradesh / Visakhapatnam / Vijayawada
Source: The Hindu - India News
