Kathmandu, Sarkar ko ebola prakop ko tayari. KATHMANDU, AUG 14 - The government is ill-prepared to combat Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) despite its claim that all necessary preparations are in place to contain its spreading, health experts said on Wednesday. According to them, the government does not have safety mechanism for health workers and the quarantine facilities to thwart the spread of EVD, even if the virus is detected at the only international airport or border check posts. Lack of Intensive Care and treatment protocol on EVD cases worldwide have further impeded the government’s capacity to deal with the disease, the experts added. The World Health Organization has recommended keeping EVD patients in an isolated ICU. There are no isolated ICUs in Nepal; among 700 ICU beds available, 70 percent are in private hospitals. The government has decided to refer EVD patients to Bir Hospital and Teku-based Shukraraj Tropical and Infectious Diseases Hospital (STIDH). Bir Hospital has a few ICU beds which are often occupied. Among 20 functioning ICU beds at Bir Hospital, six are used by neurology ward, two are used by the cardiology department, and 12 by the general ward. Meanwhile, STIDH has no ICU facility. Dr Subash Acharya, clinical coordinator of ICU unit at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, said the ICU facilities in Nepali hospitals are not prepared to handle Ebola cases. He also warned of grim consequences if EVD cases are found outside Kathmandu . “I am not sure how the government will handle a patient outside Kathmandu ,” said Dr Acharya, who is also general secretary of Nepalese Society of Critical Care Medicine. According to a 2011 study, there are 450 ICU beds in Kathmandu and only 150 outside the valley. Dr Acharya said although discussions are under way to set up ICU beds in zonal hospitals, there has not been any decision yet. The government on Tuesday had asked the Home Ministry to step up surveillance at checkpoints in Tatopani, Kakadvitta, Birgunj, Bhairahawa, Nepalgunj, Dhangadi and Mahendranagar for EVD patients. The meeting chaired by PMO Secretary Shanta Raj Subedi had instructed the ministry to refer any suspected cases to a nearby hospital or the District Health Office. Dr Baburam Marasini, director of Epidemiology and Disease Control Division, said they will request WHO to provide technical expertise and equipment to handle cases. Meanwhile, a meeting held at Ministry of Health and Population has decided to establish an EVD health desk. EVD, which has a fatality rate of 90 percent, is believed to have been transmitted to humans from wild animals and spreads from person to person. It is a severe acute viral illness often characterised by a sudden onset of fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat. These symptoms are followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, failures of kidney and liver, and, in some cases, bleeding. The disease that broke out in West African countries has gone unchecked, infecting 1,848 people, and killing 1,013 until August 9, according to WHO.