Brazil monitors two patients for possible Ebola infection
Brazil's health ministry says it is monitoring two patients arriving from the Democratic Republic of Congo for possible Ebola infection. The patients are in isolation at a reference hospital in São Paulo, with laboratory results expected within 48 hours. The ministry stressed that no confirmed Ebola case has yet been recorded in Latin America.
BBC Latin AmericaBrazil's health ministry says two people who recently arrived in the country from the Ituri region of the Democratic Republic of Congo have been placed under monitoring for possible Ebola infection. According to the BBC, the patients are in isolation at the Instituto de Infectologia Emílio Ribas reference centre in São Paulo, with PCR test results expected within 48 hours. Health Minister Nísia Trindade Lima told reporters that no case has yet been confirmed.
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared the DRC outbreak 'very high' risk last week. To date, the Ituri outbreak has produced 738 confirmed cases and 202 deaths. Brazil's representative to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Socorro Gross, told the BBC that Latin American countries have stepped up airport screening as a precaution.
The ministry said hospital staff are using full protective equipment and that contacts of the two patients are being traced. Infectious-diseases specialist Esper Kallás of the Federal University noted in a BBC interview that regional surveillance has reduced the risk of a delayed response. This article is not medical advice; health decisions should be discussed with qualified clinicians.
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