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Ebola case suspected in Edinburgh

Written By blogger on Thursday, January 15, 2015 | 2:04 PM

A suspected case of Ebola is being tested at a hospital in Edinburgh.

The patient, who recently returned from west Africa, had developed a fever.

However, there has been no confirmation that they are suffering from the deadly virus.

The person was taken by secure ambulance to the infectious diseases unit at the Western General Hospital on Thursday where they were being kept in an isolation unit.

Melanie Johnson, Director of Unscheduled Care at NHS Lothian, said: "A patient who recently returned to Scotland from West Africa has been admitted to our Regional Infectious Diseases Unit (RIDU) at the Western General Hospital after they reported a raised temperature.

"As a precautionary measure, and in line with agreed procedures, the patient will be screened for possible infections and will be kept in isolation.

"We have robust systems in place to manage patients with suspected infectious diseases and follow agreed and tested national guidelines."

A Scottish government spokesperson said: "We are aware that, as a precautionary measure, NHS Lothian has admitted a patient who has returned from West Africa.

"In line with agreed procedures, the patient will be screened for possible infections including Ebola and will be kept in isolation, again as a precaution.

"Scotland has a robust health protection surveillance system which monitors global disease outbreaks and ensures that we are fully prepared to respond to such situations."

Specialist treatment

Last month a Scottish nurse, Pauline Cafferkey, from South Lanarkshire, became the first confirmed UK case of Ebola after she returned from Sierra Leone where she had been working with the charity Save the Children.

She is being treated at London's Royal Free Hospital and was in a critical condition although she has since improved.

Ms Cafferkey, 39, had travelled home to Scotland via Casablanca, Morocco, and Heathrow Airport in London.

She was later placed in an isolation unit at Glasgow's Gartnavel Hospital after becoming feverish, before being transferred by RAF Hercules plane to London on 30 December, and taken to the Royal Free's specialist treatment centre.

Ebola is transmitted by direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person, such as blood, vomit or faeces.

The virus has killed more than 7,800 people, almost all in West Africa, since it broke out a year ago.

The World Health Organization says the number of people infected by the disease in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea has now passed 20,000.


Ebola case suspected in Edinburgh

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