Centre asks States to step up Ebola preparedness after WHO declares global health emergency

📌 Summary:

• After the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the ongoing Ebola Disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on May 17, 2026, the Centre directed all States and Union Territories to strengthen surveillance, hospital preparedness and rapid-response systems.

• Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava said countries bordering the affected regions, including South Sudan, face a high transmission risk, though the present risk to countries outside the affected African region remains low.

• The advisory cautioned that growing international trade and travel necessitate adequate preparedness and response capacities at all levels of the health system.

• States are to intensify surveillance under the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) for unusual clusters of fever and Ebola-like symptoms, particularly among people with recent travel to affected regions; warning signs listed include fever, weakness, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, rash and red eyes.

• The Ministry circulated a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) covering surveillance, sample collection, storage and referral; the ICMR's National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, is fully equipped to test suspected samples, with additional ICMR network laboratories to be strengthened as needed.

• States must identify designated isolation facilities and dedicated ambulances, and ensure trained personnel, PPE, logistics, laboratory facilities and critical-care infrastructure, while reinforcing infection prevention and control (triage, isolation, hand hygiene, biomedical waste management).

• The advisory called for refresher training of healthcare workers and rapid response teams, coordination between NIV Pune and airport/port health authorities and State/District surveillance units, and accurate public communication to prevent misinformation and panic.

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS2 (Governance) and GS3 — health-system governance and Centre-State coordination in epidemic preparedness; the role of the WHO and the PHEIC mechanism under the International Health Regulations; institutional readiness (IDSP, ICMR-NIV).

📝 Prelims Facts:

• A PHEIC (Public Health Emergency of International Concern) is declared by the WHO under the International Health Regulations (2005).

• The current Ebola outbreak is centred in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.

• IDSP is the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme; the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, functions under the ICMR.

• Ebola spreads through contact with the bodily fluids of infected persons; it is a viral haemorrhagic fever.

🔑 Key Term: Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) — the highest level of alarm the WHO can declare under the International Health Regulations (2005) for an extraordinary event that poses a public-health risk across borders and may require a coordinated international response.