Malawi: Health Authorities Fear Maburg Virus Disease Presence in North Malawi
By Naomi Mkwanda
Health authorities say there is another suspected case of the Marburg virus disease at Songwe border in Karonga.
According to Ministry of Health spokesperson Adrian Chikumbe, samples taken from the individual have been sent to South Africa to determine whether or not the symptoms he has shown are of the disease.
Last week, Mzuzu Central Hospital isolated five people who presented symptoms similar to those of the virus but were later cleared.
The five people presented symptoms similar to those of the virus but they all tested negative.
An internal memo signed by the hospital's director Ted Bandawe said out of the five patients, two were being treated for typhoid fever while the other three are being treated for adult measles.
Mzuzu Central Hospital spokesperson Arnold Kayira said all precautionary measures were being taken as the team from the Public Health Institute of Malawi was on the ground investigating the cases.
Marburg virus disease is a rare with severe haemorrhagic fever which affects both people and non-human primates.
But Kayira said the public should not panic following the Marbug scare.
He said there were no no confirmed Marburg virus case at the hospital.
Dr Kayira said the leaked memo was meant to notify members of staff about the five cases and was not meant for the public.
"The five cases are being treated in an isolation unit and are responding well to treatment," said Dr Kayira.
He said samples were being handled by the Public Health Institute of Malawi PHIM and have been sent to South Africa for testing.
No comments:
Post a Comment