In an exclusive email interview with “The Hindu” Harvard Medical School Professor Ashish Jha, predicts that India may well have “at least a few cases before the calendar year is over”. An infectious diseases and public health systems expert at Harvard Medical School has warned that the risk of India seeing an Ebola patient is “very, very high,” and predicted that India may well have “at least a few cases before the calendar year is over”.

In an exclusive email interview with The Hindu Ashish Jha, Professor of International Health at Harvard’s School of Public Health and Director of Harvard Global Health Institute, said, “As long as the outbreak continues in West Africa, the chances that someone will end up in India and then, develop symptoms is very high.” His remarks came even as India’s Health Ministry announced its plan to conduct mock drills simulating treatment for a potentially infected patient, and World Health Organisation Director-General Margaret Chan said, “The whole world is put at risk” by the deadly virus spiralling out of control.

WHO’s India office, in a statement, underscored India’s “active screening of passengers at international airports and hospital preparedness in major cities for referral of potential suspected Ebola cases for investigation,” noting the Health Ministry’s screening of 21,799 passengers between August 1 and October 12, of whom 55 were deemed high risk but no positive cases had emerged so far.

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