Prateek Tanmay
3 min readAhmedabadMay 28, 2026 01:26 AM IST
A 36-year-old man from the Democratic Republic of Congo who came to India earlier this month was on Tuesday night admitted to the isolation ward for Ebola at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, the state health minister said.
As the symptoms he showed hinted at viral hemorrhagic fever, his blood samples were sent to the National Institute of Virology (ICMR-NIV) in Pune for Ebola testing.
On his arrival, Amuri Lokula first landed at the Mumbai International Airport on May 18. He stayed in the city for five days, before leaving for the Union Territories of Silvassa (DNH) and Daman, where he stayed for four days till May 25. On May 25, he came to Vadodara in Gujarat and stayed at the Express Hotel.
When hospitalised on Tuesday, Lokula had been suffering from high-grade fever with chills and rigours, severe body ache and headache for three days prior.
Health minister Praful Pansheriya said: “Some days ago, Amuri Lokula, Petric Kaja, and Valentin Zodl came to India from DR Congo for business. Lokula had a fever and was initially admitted to Banker Hospital in Vadodara for treatment. The health department found out that he had come from DR Congo and, so for safety measures, he was transferred to Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, and his blood sample was sent for testing. The result has not yet come back, and there are no cases of Ebola in Gujarat.”
Meanwhile, Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) has taken up contact tracing and identified three others who had come into contact with Lokula. They were Dr Saman Musanna, Petric Kaja, and Valentin Zodl. All three were quarantined at the SVP Hospital in Ahmedabad by Wednesday evening, confirmed additional superintendent Dr Bhavesh Dave.
There are three levels of standard operating procedures (SOPs) established to deal with Ebola, which has been declared a public health emergency of international Concern (PHEIC) by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Apart from screening and self-declaration by passengers arriving from affected countries, including DR Congo, South Sudan and Uganda, the first level is home isolation for contacts of patients; the second is quarantine at SVP Hospital in Ahmedabad and the third level, for symptomatic patients, is admittance and treatment at the two designated apex hospitals in Gujarat – Asarwa Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad and New Civil Hospital in Surat.
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Dr Bhavin Solanki, the medical officer of health (MoH) at Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), said, “Nine Indian nationals and one foreign national who travelled to affected countries are currently in home isolation in Ahmedabad but none of them have any symptoms.”
DR Congo has reported nearly 1,000 suspected Ebola cases and more than 220 suspected deaths, the UN said in a report on Wednesday, citing figures from health agencies and partners.
