EBOLA CASE REPORT

Ebola virus disease – United Kingdom

Disease outbreak news
30 December 2014

On 29 December 2014, WHO was notified by the National IHR Focal Point for the United Kingdom of a laboratory-confirmed case of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). This is the first EVD case to be detected on UK soil.

Details of the case are as follows:

The case is a female healthcare worker who has returned from volunteering at an Ebola treatment centre in Sierra Leone. The patient flew from Freetown to London via Casablanca, Morocco before reaching Glasgow on 28 December. The case displayed no symptoms of infectious Ebola throughout the journey, but is believed to have become febrile around the time of arrival to London.

After feeling unwell with fever and myalgia, the case was admitted to the specialist Brownlee Unit for Infectious Diseases on the Gartnavel Hospital campus in Glasgow and placed into strict isolation on the morning of 29 December. The patient was transferred for treatment in isolation at the Royal Free hospital in London on 30 December 2014. Currently, the patient is in stable condition and remains in isolation.

Public health response

A range of public health measures are being implemented by UK authorities with special attention to investigate all possible contacts with the patient during the flight to Scotland via Heathrow. 

WHO is in close contact with UK authorities and is facilitating information sharing with involved countries, including Morocco. WHO is ready to further assist as needed.

Future WHO updates on EVD in the UK will not be posted on the Disease Outbreak News. Further information will be available in the WHO’s Ebola Situation Reports, which provide regular updates on the WHO response:

• Ebola situation reports

WHO does not recommend any travel or trade restrictions be applied by countries except in cases where individuals have been confirmed or are suspected of being infected with EVD or where individuals have had contact with cases of EVD. Contacts do not include properly-protected healthcare workers and laboratory staff

West Africa - Ebola virus disease

28 March 2014 – Confirmed and suspected cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD) have been recently reported in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

The most common symptoms experienced by individuals infected with the virus are the sudden onset of fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat. This is followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, impaired kidney and liver function, and in some cases, both internal and external bleeding. Laboratory findings include low white blood cells and platelets counts and elevated liver enzymes. People are infectious as long as their blood and secretions contain the virus. Men who have recovered from the disease can still transmit the virus through their semen for up to seven weeks after recovery from illness. The incubation period (interval from infection to onset of symptoms) varies between 2 to 21 days.

The risk of infection for travellers is very low since most human infections result from direct contact with the body fluids or secretions of infected patients, particularly in hospitals (nosocomial transmission) and as a result of unsafe procedures, use of contaminated medical devices (including needles and syringes) and unprotected exposure to contaminated body fluids. Travellers should avoid all contact with infected patients. Those who are providing medical care or are involved in the evaluation of an outbreak should wear protective clothing, including masks, gloves, gowns, eye protection and practice proper infection control and sterilization measures. Burial ceremonies in which mourners have direct contact with the body of the deceased person can also play a role in the transmission of Ebola.

Anyone who stayed in the areas where EVD cases have been recently reported should be aware of the symptoms of infection and advised to seek medical attention at the first sign of illness. Clinicians managing returning travellers from visiting these areas with compatible symptoms are advised to take into consideration the possibility of EVD. Malaria, typhoid fever, shigellosis, cholera, leptospirosis, plague, rickettsiosis, relapsing fever, meningitis, hepatitis and other viral haemorrhagic fevers are differential diagnosis to consider in these patients.

WHO does not recommend that any travel or trade restrictions be applied in respect to this event.

Yellow fever in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Disease Outbreak News

14 JUNE 2013 - The Ministry of Health of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is launching an emergency mass vaccination campaign against yellow fever from 20 June 2013, following laboratory confirmation of six cases in the country on 6 June 2013.

The six laboratory-confirmed cases were reported from 3 health zones: Lubao (4 cases), Kamana (1 case) and Ludimbi-Lukula (1 case). They were identified through the national surveillance programme for yellow fever. The laboratory confirmation was done by the Institute Pasteur in Dakar, Senegal, a WHO regional reference laboratory for yellow fever.

Preliminary outbreak investigation revealed that the index case is a 16-year-old boy from Kisengua village in the Lubao Health Zone who became ill on 1 March 2013. The outbreak investigation team has also identified 51 suspected cases including 19 deaths, in the three health zones. Serum samples have been taken from 13 patients and are being analyzed in the Institute National of Biomedical Research (INRB).

The mass vaccination campaign aims to cover at least 503,426 people in the three affected health zones.

DISEASE OUTBREAK NEWS

Novel coronavirus infection - update

12 MARCH 2013 - The Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia has informed WHO of a new confirmed case of infection with the novel coronavirus (nCoV).

The patient, a 39-year-old male, developed symptoms on 24 February 2013. He was hospitalized on 28 February 2013 and died on 2 March 2013. Preliminary investigation indicated that the patient had no contact with previously reported cases of nCoV infection. Other potential exposures are under investigation.

To date, WHO has been informed of a global total of 15 confirmed cases of human infection with nCoV, including nine deaths.

Based on the current situation and available information, WHO encourages all Member States (MS) to continue their surveillance for severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) and to carefully review any unusual patterns. WHO is currently working with international experts and countries where cases have been reported to assess the situation and review recommendations for surveillance and monitoring.

All MS are reminded to promptly assess and notify WHO of any new case of infection with nCoV, along with information about potential exposures that may have resulted in infection and a description of the clinical course.

WHO does not advise special screening at points of entry with regard to this event nor does it recommend that any travel or trade restrictions be applied.

WHO continues to closely monitor the situation.

YELLOW FEVER OUTBREAK IN CHAD

Yellow fever in Chad

14 FEBRUARY 2013 - The Ministry of Health of Chad is launching an emergency mass-vaccination campaign against yellow fever from 22 February 2013, following laboratory confirmation of two cases in the country in December 2012.

The two cases from Goz Beida and Guereda districts, were laboratory confirmation by a WHO regional reference laboratory for yellow fever, Institut Pasteur in Dakar, Senegal. They were identified through the national surveillance programme for yellow fever, following intensive surveillance which was triggered in response to the outbreak of yellow fever in neighbouring Sudan’s Darfur region. The intensive surveillance in Chad also reported 139 suspected cases and 9 deaths.

The vaccination campaign will be conducted in 3 districts bordering Darfur, Sudan, namely Goz Beida, Guereda and Adré, targeting over a million people, including inhabitants of refugee camps in the area.

Do you provide a Govt. of India Certificate ?

We are NOT authorised by the Government of India. We provideYellow fever vaccine ( STAMARIL ) manufactured  by (Sanofi Aventis – Multi National company) who have gotten the approval from WHO for their Yellow Fever Vaccine , made in France. They have also taken permission from DCGI for the same to market this vaccine in India. The Govt of India does not give direct permission to any private health care facility to provide Yellow Fever Vaccination. We provide WHO International Certificate of Vaccination.You must check with Embassy/ Health authority of the Country you are planning to visit or return to about the acceptability of this certificate.We do NOT guarantee that you will not face any problems at embassy / immigration. The traveler is always responsible for clearing the immigration, and we do not take any responsibility for the same.

Yellow fever in the Republic of Congo

 The Ministry of Health of the Republic of Congo is launching an emergency mass-vaccination campaign against yellow fever in Ewo District in Cuvette-Ouest region, beginning next week.

The emergency vaccination campaign aims to cover approximately 35,000 people in three health districts of Mbama, Ewo and Okoyo, all of which belong to the administrative district of Ewo.

The emergency vaccination campaign is being carried out after recent confirmation of a case with yellow fever virus infection that occurred in October 2012. The case was identified through the national surveillance programme for yellow fever.Laboratory confirmation was done at Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale Kinshasa (INRB), and reconfirmed by a WHO regional reference laboratory for yellow fever, Institut Pasteur, Dakar, Senegal.