The Union health ministry on Saturday advised citizens to avoid non-essential travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and South Sudan due to the Ebola outbreak in parts of Africa.

It urged citizens currently living in or travelling to these countries to strictly follow health guidance from the local authorities and maintain heightened precautions.

This came six days after the World Health Organization declared the current outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern.

The WHO said that the outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo virus, does not meet the criteria of a pandemic emergency. However, the trends of suspected cases and clusters of deaths being reported “point towards a potentially much larger outbreak than what is currently being detected and reported, with significant local and regional risk of spread”.

Earlier this week, a summit between India and the African Union that was scheduled to be held between May 28 and May 31 was also postponed due to the Ebola outbreak.

On Sunday, the health ministry noted that the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee of the World Health Organization had on Friday issued temporary recommendations to strengthen disease surveillance at points of entry “to “detect, assess, report and manage travellers with unexplained febrile illness arriving from areas with documented Bundibugyo virus detection”.

The committee has also urged countries to discourage travel to areas with documented Bundibugyo virus detection, the health ministry noted.

As of Saturday, the toll due to the Bundibugyo strain of the virus had risen to 216, while the number of cases had risen to 968, The Hindu reported.

In this backdrop, the Directorate General of Health Services has issued strict screening protocols at major international points of entry, including the Delhi airport, to intercept possible cases of the virus.

This includes increased surveillance for travellers from high-risk nations such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and South Sudan, the newspaper reported.

Flights on these routes have been told to make mandatory in-flight announcements and distribute self-declaration forms. Passengers are required to report to the Airport Health Officer or health desk before clearing immigration if they have Ebola symptoms or have had direct contact with the bodily fluids of a suspected Ebola patient, according to The Hindu.

Ebola is a virus that causes sudden fever, intense weakness, muscle pain and a sore throat in the initial stages. However, it escalates to vomiting, diarrhoea, internal and external bleeding. Infection occurs after coming into direct contact with the blood, vomit, faeces or bodily fluids of someone suffering from Ebola. Patients reportedly die due to dehydration and multiple organ failure.

There is no proven cure for Ebola and the disease has an average fatality rate of about 50%, according to the World Health Organization.

Written by Neerad Pandharipande. Edited by Sara Varghese.