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Ministerial Statement: Issue of Ebola Cases in Zimbabwe
22 Sep 2014 at 13:28hrs | Views
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT: ISSUE OF EBOLA CASES IN ZIMBABWE
THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AND CHILD CARE (DR.DAVID PARIRENYATWA):
Mr. Speaker Sir, I would like to make a Ministerial Statement on the issue of Ebola. I would like to clarify the issue regarding the rumours that are circulating about Ebola in Zimbabwe.
Mr. Speaker, the rumour emanated and pointed at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals but I would like to dispel that rumour and say that, Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals wishes to dispel the Ebola virus disease rumours.
We would want to assure you that the hospital did not at any time, detect any Ebola case. Patients are screened in line with set protocols of the Ministry of Health and Child Care regarding the
Ebola virus disease. Tents have been availed to screen patients before they are attended to at accidents, in emergency department and outpatients department respectively.
If any suspected case is identified, it will be transferred to an isolation centre at Wilkins Infectious Diseases Hospital. The patient who has caused this alarm and the case was brought up this patient
was brought in an ambulance and was examined by two doctors with special training in Ebola case management and detection.
The two doctors were satisfied that the patient was not an Ebola case. I will go into detail about the rumours that are circulating.
The first case of the circulation of Ebola was a rumoured case of Ebola at the South Medical Hospital in Chitungwiza on the 13th September 2014; the hospital is called South Med. The national rapid response team of laboratory medical team from the headquarters, Harare City Health and Chitungwiza City Health visited the site in order to get more information about the case and to collect samples.
This is a case of a male patient aged 27 years , who was admitted on the 9th September, 2014 and died on the 12th September, 2014. When he was admitted, the diagnosis was of urinary tract infection and it was queried meningitis and renal failure. Before admission, the patient was said to have had diarrhoea and vomiting and had pain while swallowing for the previous two weeks. The body temperature was initially at 37 and was latter elevated until he died.
The patient was on treatment on Rosephane and Chloramphenicol antibiotics. The specialist physician who examined the case was informed that he had been to the Democratic Republic of
Congo, despite the fact that relatives claim that he did not have a passport and never visited the Democratic Republic of Congo. During the dates of admission, the patient was also isolated in the high dependence unit.
Mr. Speaker Sir, a specimen was collected of blood on this patient and was sent to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases in South Africa, which is only one of the centres in Africa that tests for Ebola.
We received the results back on the 17th September and were negative for Ebola. So, we can conclusively conclude that the case of South Medical Hospital is not Ebola and there are rumours already circulating Mr. Speaker Sir, that we have identified a case at South Med. I would want to squash that rumour and there is a report of the negative results.
The second case that has occurred was at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals. This was a male Zimbabwean aged 50 years, working in Mozambique and he stays in Mozambique. He had come from Mozambique and presented at Parirenyatwa Casualty on an ambulance on Tuesday, 16th, with the following symptoms: he was confused, had a temperature of 38- which is high.
The normal temperature is about 37. He was generally very ill and he required resuscitation. The alarm therefore, was caused by the fact that his wife is a Congolese who had visited the DRC more than 29 days ago. In other words, this particular woman had come from the DRC on the 18th of August.
Our incubation period is 21 days and she had well passed it. She is well as I speak now and this woman has not been sick at all. I want to develop this case and say that the patient works in Mozambique, came to Zimbabwe to meet with his wife but was then admitted at Parirenyatwa Hospital because he was unwell. We then called our Response Team from the Environmental Health National Microbiology Ward and the provision diagnosis was one of cerebral malaria or typhoid.
It was never suspected of Ebola. There was no epidemiological link of the ill patient to any of the Ebola countries. He was working in Mozambique; never visited DRC or any Ebola area and as I have said, the wife had visited DRC well over 21 days ago.
Adequate history was taken by health workers. He was attended by physicians at Parirenyatwa and had a working diagnosis of cerebral malaria was made. There was no need at all to test for ebola.
This was excluded by the absence of any link. What is important is, there must bea link; you must have come into contact with a person who is infected or a dead body that died because of ebola.
The patient was referred to Beatrice Road Infectious Disease Hospital as query typhoid and cerebral malaria. The patient died on the 17th of September at Beatrice Road Infectious Disease Hospital.
The rumours are spread by social media due to the panic that happened at Parirenyatwa Hospital, particularly with health workers.
When this patient came in an ambulance, he was on a drip. In his confusion, he pulled out the drip and then there was blood all over. So, because the patient was very ill and had blood all over, the staff thought he was bleeding from everywhere, so it might be ebola.
So, I want to dispel that rumour and just say that, we do not have a case of ebola at all in Zimbabwe for now. I want to emphasize, for now and I would like to say, we hope that we will not have a case of ebola in this country. We will continue to strengthen our surveillance and screening at the borders and again, we hope we will not have a case of ebola in the country in future.
I thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.
THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AND CHILD CARE (DR.DAVID PARIRENYATWA):
Mr. Speaker Sir, I would like to make a Ministerial Statement on the issue of Ebola. I would like to clarify the issue regarding the rumours that are circulating about Ebola in Zimbabwe.
Mr. Speaker, the rumour emanated and pointed at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals but I would like to dispel that rumour and say that, Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals wishes to dispel the Ebola virus disease rumours.
We would want to assure you that the hospital did not at any time, detect any Ebola case. Patients are screened in line with set protocols of the Ministry of Health and Child Care regarding the
Ebola virus disease. Tents have been availed to screen patients before they are attended to at accidents, in emergency department and outpatients department respectively.
If any suspected case is identified, it will be transferred to an isolation centre at Wilkins Infectious Diseases Hospital. The patient who has caused this alarm and the case was brought up this patient
was brought in an ambulance and was examined by two doctors with special training in Ebola case management and detection.
The two doctors were satisfied that the patient was not an Ebola case. I will go into detail about the rumours that are circulating.
The first case of the circulation of Ebola was a rumoured case of Ebola at the South Medical Hospital in Chitungwiza on the 13th September 2014; the hospital is called South Med. The national rapid response team of laboratory medical team from the headquarters, Harare City Health and Chitungwiza City Health visited the site in order to get more information about the case and to collect samples.
This is a case of a male patient aged 27 years , who was admitted on the 9th September, 2014 and died on the 12th September, 2014. When he was admitted, the diagnosis was of urinary tract infection and it was queried meningitis and renal failure. Before admission, the patient was said to have had diarrhoea and vomiting and had pain while swallowing for the previous two weeks. The body temperature was initially at 37 and was latter elevated until he died.
The patient was on treatment on Rosephane and Chloramphenicol antibiotics. The specialist physician who examined the case was informed that he had been to the Democratic Republic of
Congo, despite the fact that relatives claim that he did not have a passport and never visited the Democratic Republic of Congo. During the dates of admission, the patient was also isolated in the high dependence unit.
Mr. Speaker Sir, a specimen was collected of blood on this patient and was sent to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases in South Africa, which is only one of the centres in Africa that tests for Ebola.
We received the results back on the 17th September and were negative for Ebola. So, we can conclusively conclude that the case of South Medical Hospital is not Ebola and there are rumours already circulating Mr. Speaker Sir, that we have identified a case at South Med. I would want to squash that rumour and there is a report of the negative results.
The second case that has occurred was at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals. This was a male Zimbabwean aged 50 years, working in Mozambique and he stays in Mozambique. He had come from Mozambique and presented at Parirenyatwa Casualty on an ambulance on Tuesday, 16th, with the following symptoms: he was confused, had a temperature of 38- which is high.
The normal temperature is about 37. He was generally very ill and he required resuscitation. The alarm therefore, was caused by the fact that his wife is a Congolese who had visited the DRC more than 29 days ago. In other words, this particular woman had come from the DRC on the 18th of August.
Our incubation period is 21 days and she had well passed it. She is well as I speak now and this woman has not been sick at all. I want to develop this case and say that the patient works in Mozambique, came to Zimbabwe to meet with his wife but was then admitted at Parirenyatwa Hospital because he was unwell. We then called our Response Team from the Environmental Health National Microbiology Ward and the provision diagnosis was one of cerebral malaria or typhoid.
It was never suspected of Ebola. There was no epidemiological link of the ill patient to any of the Ebola countries. He was working in Mozambique; never visited DRC or any Ebola area and as I have said, the wife had visited DRC well over 21 days ago.
Adequate history was taken by health workers. He was attended by physicians at Parirenyatwa and had a working diagnosis of cerebral malaria was made. There was no need at all to test for ebola.
This was excluded by the absence of any link. What is important is, there must bea link; you must have come into contact with a person who is infected or a dead body that died because of ebola.
The patient was referred to Beatrice Road Infectious Disease Hospital as query typhoid and cerebral malaria. The patient died on the 17th of September at Beatrice Road Infectious Disease Hospital.
The rumours are spread by social media due to the panic that happened at Parirenyatwa Hospital, particularly with health workers.
When this patient came in an ambulance, he was on a drip. In his confusion, he pulled out the drip and then there was blood all over. So, because the patient was very ill and had blood all over, the staff thought he was bleeding from everywhere, so it might be ebola.
So, I want to dispel that rumour and just say that, we do not have a case of ebola at all in Zimbabwe for now. I want to emphasize, for now and I would like to say, we hope that we will not have a case of ebola in this country. We will continue to strengthen our surveillance and screening at the borders and again, we hope we will not have a case of ebola in the country in future.
I thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.
Source - Byo24News
