South Africa: NICD Denies SA Ebola Case

Johannesburg — The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) denied a claim on Thursday that a South African man has contracted Ebola.

"This is not correct. A South African man who worked as a fleet manager in Sierra Leone got anxious [upon his return], and was referred to Addington Hospital [in Durban]," NICD public health, surveillance, and response head Lucille Blumberg said.

"In fact, he did not go [to the hospital], as he did not fulfil what we call a 'suspect for Ebola'. There was no indication -- he never had a risk and there was no suspected case."

She said health workers who dealt with bodily fluids would be at risk of contracting Ebola.

The Health and Other Services Personnel Trade Union of South Africa (Hospersa) said in a statement on Thursday that a patient who contracted Ebola had "absconded" from the hospital.

"Hospersa has received reports from panicked members at Addington Hospital that after tests had confirmed a patient to be infected with the Ebola virus the patient absconded from the hospital yesterday [Wednesday]."

The Star reported on Thursday that a suspected Ebola patient was admitted to the hospital.

When asked whether a blood sample was taken because there was a suspicion of Ebola, KwaZulu-Natal health MEC Sibongiseni Dhlomo told the newspaper "Yebo" [yes]. ...AllAfrica