Suspected Ebola patient responding to malaria treatment in Harare
The suspected Ebola patient who was admitted at Harare’s Wilkins Infectious Diseases Hospital on Thursday is likely to be discharged this week after doctors confirmed she is suffering from malaria.
Ministry of Health and Child Care director (epidemiology and disease control) Dr Portia Manangazira said, “The patient is responding well to malaria treatment; doctors at Wilkins are thinking of discharging her.”
The Congolese student raised fears of an Ebola outbreak after exhibiting symptoms linked to the deadly disease.
She first sought treatment at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals and was later quarantined at Wilkins, which shut its doors on other patients for three days.
Rapid malaria tests were positive, prompting health officials to abort dispatching blood samples to South Africa for Ebola testing.
Ebola has killed nearly 4 000 people since it was first reported in West Africa with Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea being the hardest hit.
Other countries are taking precautions, among them stringent screening and cancelling flights to and from Ebola-prone regions.
Zimbabwe has set up isolation centres at major hospitals to deal with suspected cases.
Screening teams and health workers have also been trained, while screening stations were established at Harare and Victoria Falls international airports. The two airports and Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport are using infra-red thermo cameras and various other gadgets to detect the disease.
In addition, those travelling from affected countries are being monitored for 21 days and those showing any symptoms will be quarantined for further investigation.
Well-wishers have also donated specialised ambulances, courier services and staff allowances.
