S.Africa tests possible Ebola victim

A South African man has been admitted to hospital for Ebola tests.

The 37-year-old was admitted to hospital on 17 August for further tests because he was showing symptoms of the virus.

According to reports, the man worked as a health official at a mine is Liberia and landed in the country on 6 August.

A South African news service, SAPA, reported that the Department of Health spokesperson Joe Maila said in a statement that the man was scanned accordingly on his arrival at the OR Tambo International Airport.

"He was healthy on arrival and the scanner revealed no problem nor raised temperature," the statement read.

Maila added that the man had no contact with any patients while in Liberia and he was not involved in patient care.

However, on 16 August the man went to see his doctor due to fever.

"Following on the protocols issued to all private and public practitioners and health facilities, the doctor contacted the National Institute for Communicable Diseases [NICD] to discuss the patient.”

He said based on test results a decision was made to continue observing the patient at home and to repeat the blood tests on Sunday.

"His temperature increased and it was decided that he be admitted at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital for further assessment and investigations."

He said the NICD regarded the patient as low risk for the Ebola virus disease.

"However, as a precautionary measure, given his history of working in Liberia the protocol developed for haemorrhagic fevers needed to be followed."

He said the public would be informed of the results as they become available.

On 14 August, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said there were no known Ebola cases in South Africa.

Last week Motsoaledi confirmed that a pregnant woman from Guinea suspected to have been infected with the virus, had tested negative.

He said many people landed from Ebola-stricken countries without the virus.

According to the country’s NICD’s latest Ebola alert, published 14 August, there were no laboratory-confirmed cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in South Africa associated with the current outbreak in West Africa.

The NICD said the risk of infection for travellers was generally low since most human infections result from direct contact with contaminated body fluids.

EVD cases have been reported from the capital cities of Conakry, Monrovia and Freetown during the current outbreak.

Given the frequency of travel between southern and western African countries, there is a risk of EVD cases being imported into South Africa, but overall this risk is low,” the institute said in the alert.

There has only be one imported case of EVD reported in South Africa which was in 1996, a Gabonese doctor working with EVD cases in Libreville, Gabon, was admitted to a hospital in Johannesburg. According to reports, the nurse that treated him also contracted the disease.

http://www.cnbcafrica.com/news/southern-africa/2014/08/17/south-africa-ebola-victim/