Tests for killer virus in SA

2005-04-07 08:29

Carien du Plessis

Steynsburg - Blood and tissue samples from healthcare workers and family members who came into contact with the man suspected to have died of the deadly Marburg virus last week are being tested to make sure that they did not contract the virus.

Sizwe Kupelo of the Eastern Cape department of health said a medical team from the department is in Steynsburg to investigate the death of Elijah Nongqo, 50.

Nongqo worked in Angola and returned to South African on March 22. He died in a hospital in Steynsburg before he could receive treatment.

Nongqo's body was taken to Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital for a post-mortem. Kupelo confirmed that tissue samples from the body were sent to a laboratory in Johannesburg for tests. The results will be available within a week or two.

Meanwhile, Sapa reports that the virus could have spread to a township about 18 km from the Angolan capital, Luanda. A woman, 22, was treated for severe bleeding and fever, but it has not been confirmed yet that the virus was responsible for her condition.

The virus has already claimed the lives of 156 people in Angola.

This is one of the worst outbreaks of the Marburg virus yet.

- Die Burger