Marburg: Plans in place in SA
2005-04-21 16:49
Pretoria - There are countrywide systems in place in South Africa to respond to suspected cases of the Marburg virus, health minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said in Pretoria on Thursday.
"No confirmed case of Marburg has been reported in South Africa.
"Isolation facilities for suspected cases have been identified in all provinces," Tshabalala-Msimang said at the opening of a seminar between her department and the United Kingdom's health protection agency.
She said health care providers and port health officers had been put on alert and were aware of how to deal with suspected cases of the Ebola-like virus which has hit Angola, particularly in the Uige province.
"In addition, a special committee has been established at national level to closely monitor the situation both locally and internationally," Tshabalala-Msimang said.
A man who fell ill on an aircraft from Angola on Tuesday night and was feared to have Marburg fever appeared only to have had malaria, the health department said on Wednesday.
Department spokesperson Solly Mabotha said the man, who originally comes from Eritrea, would be held under observation in an isolation ward at the Johannesburg Hospital for a "while longer".
- SAPA