Doctor in special isolation

2007-02-22 10:11

Johannesburg - A Nigerian national, who contracted Lassa fever, is being treated at the Unitas hospital in Centurion, Pretoria, the Gauteng health department said on Wednesday.

"The medical doctor is being treated in a special isolation ward in the hospital after being flown in from Abuja, Nigeria, on Monday," said spokesperson Vusi Sibiya.

Initially the man was thought to have malaria or septicaemia. However, medical tests revealed that he was suffering from Lassa fever - an acute viral illness.

A pilot, two co-pilots and two paramedics who accompanied the man on his flight, have been placed under quarantine.

Lassa fever is found in West African countries such as Nigeria, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, but is rarely found in South Africa.

Its symptoms include fever and weakness, followed by headaches, a sore throat, muscle pains, nausea and vomiting. In severe cases an individual may experience swelling of the face and bleeding from the mouth and nose.

The disease can be contracted from contact with infected animals and through direct contact with blood or other bodily secretions of an infected person.

Sibiya said precautions had been taken at the hospital to contain the disease and to protect those who are working in the ward.

- SAPA