There was an Ebola scare at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope, yesterday when a Trinidadian man who recently visited Equatorial Guinea was brought into the Accident and Emergency Department from Mayaro with high fever and flu-like symptoms. Equatorial Guinea is in Central Africa. According to the US Centres for Disease Control, as of September 14, there had been 942 cases of Ebola there and 601 deaths.
However, the virus was ruled out yesterday and the patient diagnosed with malaria. This is the second confirmed case of malaria in the country. Recently, a patient in St Clair who was also suspected of having contracted Ebola also was diagnosed with malaria. Speaking with the T&T Guardian yesterday, chairman of the North Central Regional Authority (NCRHA) Dr Shehenaz Mohammed said yesterday's incident was an “unnecessary scare.”
Mohammed said the patient, whose name was not released, was transferred from the Mayaro Health Centre to the EWMSC early yesterday morning. The patient was attended to by the staff who, Mohammed assured, were equipped with full protective gear. She said he was also attended to by infectious disease specialists, Dr Martin and Dr Ojuro. Mohammed said the patient was under a net and closely being monitored by staff in one of two isolation rooms at the EWMSC A&E Unit.
She added that the Insect Vector Control Unit also was notified and was making arrangements to bring the required anti-malarial medicine for the patient. The T&T Guardian understands that protocol may have been breached when the patient was transferred to the EWMSC instead of being sent straight to the Caura Hospital.
Mohammed denied that, saying Caura Hospital does not have an emergency room and therefore patients must be sent to the EWMSC first, where they will be placed in one of the two isolation rooms designated for patients with suspected infectious diseases, including Ebola. The T&T Guardian was also told that when staff at Caura Hospital were notified of the suspected case of Ebola and told to get ready to receive the patient, some claimed they were not ready and had serious concerns.
Mohammed again said all medical staff were prepared to handle any emergency. “I was even assured by Mr Thomas at Caura Hospital that his staff was prepared and putting all things in place to admit the patient, should he be transferred there,” she added. Asked if T&T should be worried about a possible malaria epidemic, Mohammed replied: “No. Let's not create a panic. It's just an isolated case.”
Health Ministry responds
A release from the Ministry of Health said the patient exhibited prolonged symptoms of fever, pains and tiredness. He had recently travelled from Equatorial Guinea through the Abuja Airport, Nigeria, before arriving in Trinidad on September 3. The ministry said the patient was screened for hepatitis, dengue haemorrhagic fever, leptospirosis and malaria. “These more common diseases need to be excluded before a diagnosis of Ebola can be made,” it explained.
The ministry also said while a global emergency had been declared for the Ebola virus, there are no suspected or confirmed cases in T&T, but it remained on high alert to deal with the situation. The ministry also warned people travelling to countries where diseases, such as malaria were endemic “must take the necessary precautions to minimise their risk of exposure.” It reiterated that while Ebola did have a high mortality rate, all evidence indicated that it was not easily contracted.
The virus can only be contracted through close contact with the bodily fluids of a symptomatic person or someone who has died of the disease.
Malaria in Venezuela
The number of cases of the parasitic disease malaria are on the rise in Venezuela. The Health Ministry in Venezuela says some 1,668 new cases of malaria were detected from August 24-30. The total number of cases so far this year is 55,970, jumping by 2.35 per cent over the 54,680 reports recorded last year.