Ebola scare after patient returns to Bahamas from South Africa - died - Ebola ruled out

[Pathfinder]

Ebola scare after patient returns to Bahamas from South Africa

Monday, March 28, 2016 | 9:20 AM

NASSAU, Bahamas (CMC) ? Health authorities say they are taking ?the necessary precautions? and have so far ruled out a case of Ebola infection following the hospitalisation of a 51-year-old woman after a visit to South Africa earlier this month.

The Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) said the unidentified woman checked into the Accident and Emergency on March 15 after she visited Johannesburg two weeks ago.
...

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Ebola-scare-after-patient-returns-to-Bahamas-from-South-Africa

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PMH statement on suspect case: Ebola unlikely

Monday, 28 March 2016 07:06

The Princess Margaret Hospital is currently managing the case of a 51 year old female patient who travelled to Johannesburg, South Africa two (2) weeks ago, and returned to the Bahamas on the 15th March, 2016. The patient presented at Accident and Emergency, PMH.

An intensive investigation is underway to determine the cause of illness. Senior Health Officials have confirmed, that the patient has not presented in a manner which indicates Ebola to be the likely diagnosis. At this time there is no confirmed case of Ebola Infection at the Princess Margaret Hospital. According to the last Ebola Epi Alert issued on the 10th of August, 2015 by the World Health Organization (WHO), Sierra Leone and Guinea remain the only countries with ongoing intense transmission.

As with any potential infectious disease case, the hospital is taking the necessary precautions and abiding by the highest protocols requisite for such cases, within international guidelines.

The patient is being nursed in isolation. The hospital will provide updates as test results are received.

http://www.bahamaislandsinfo.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=23732:pmh-statement-on-suspect-case-ebola-unlikely&catid=35:Press%20releases%20of%20interest&Itemid=148

[Pathfinder]

Health officials in Bahamas allay Ebola concerns after death

CARIBBEAN360MARCH 29, 2016

NASSAU, Bahamas, Tuesday March 29, 2016 ? Amid speculation about a possible Ebola case in the Bahamas, health officials say it?s unlikely that a woman who died on Sunday evening after being hospitalized following a trip to South Africa was infected by the illness.

The 51-year-old woman returned to the Bahamas on March 15 after travelling to Johannesburg, South Africa early this month, and subsequently went to the Accident and Emergency Department of the Princess Margaret Hospital.
...

http://www.caribbean360.com/news/health-officials-bahamas-allay-ebola-concerns-death

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Ebola case 'unlikely'

March 29, 2016

A Bahamian woman admitted to Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) with a suspected case of an infectious disease died on Sunday, according to the Public Hospitals Authority (PHA), which said yesterday a case of Ebola is "unlikely", but testing was ongoing.

According to the PHA, the woman, 51, traveled to Johannesburg, South Africa, in early March and returned to The Bahamas on March 15.
It is unclear when she was admitted to hospital.

In a statement on Sunday, the PHA said the woman was being nursed in isolation.

It said an intensive investigation was underway to determine the cause of illness and all necessary precautions were being taken.

"Senior health officials have confirmed that the patient has not presented in a manner which indicates Ebola to be the likely diagnosis," the PHA said on Sunday.

In a statement yesterday, the PHA confirmed the woman died.

The authority maintained that a case of Ebola was unlikely.
...

http://www.bahamaslocal.com/newsitem/148704/Ebola_case_unlikely.html

[Pathfinder]

Ministry of Health Press Release - Ebola Remains Unlikely

Authored by:	Ministry of Health
Source:	Ministry of Health
Date:	March 28, 2016

The Ministry of Health and its agencies including the Public Hospitals Authority, Department of Public Health and the Pan American Health Organization in an update this morning maintains that a suspected case of Ebola at the Princess Margret Hospital is unlikely.

A meeting was held this morning with senior Health Officials led by the Minister of Health, Dr. the Honorable M. Perry Gomez, and including Dr. Kathleen Israel, Pan American Health Organization representative along with the PAHO Washington DC team at which it was confirmed that conclusive testing is being facilitated for a number infectious diseases including Ebola through the Centers of Disease Control in the United States of America.

The patient who passed away on Sunday evening had travelled to Johannesburg South Africa in early March. According to the World Health Organization, South Africa to date has had no reported cases of Ebola. The Ministry of Health can confirm that all standard protocols including necessary protective measures in keeping with international guidelines have been followed in the management of the patient at the Princess Margaret Hospital.

The Ministry of Health will continue to work closely with PAHO and other international partners to ensure that effective measures are followed to safeguard the health of the public in accordance with international best practice.

http://www.bahamas.gov.bs/wps/portal...vZ0FBIS9nQSEh/

[alert]

There have been no Ebola cases in South Africa in years. Unless she had additional exposures elsewhere, this can't be Ebola.

However, CCHF is endemic in South Africa, with a few cases reported each year, and would symptomatically be very similar to Ebola. CCHF would also require contact tracing and quarantine/isolation, just like Ebola would. Several other infections such as malaria can also be mistaken for Ebola, as we have seen elsewhere.

Johannesburg in particular reported five cases of the hemorrhagic fever known know as Lujo in September and October 2008:

https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/africa/h5n1-tracking-aa/39596-several-cases-of-fatal-illness-novel-arenavirus-strain-south-africa-ex-Zambia

While that is thought to have been imported into South Africa, the source of that outbreak remains unclear.

A South African businessman died in December 2008 in Brazil after a hemorrhagic illness that was eventually confirmed to be spotted fever, after raising suspicion of VHF:

https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/emerging-diseases-other-health-threats-alphabetical-a-thru-h/41753-brazil-a-case-of-undiagnosed-hemorrhagic-fever-in-a-south-african-patient-rsoe-edis

We know this woman was healthy enough to fly to the Bahamas on March 15, took ill afterward (when?), and died on March 27.

[Pathfinder]

CDC rules out Ebola as cause of death of Bahamian patient

CARIBBEAN360APRIL 7, 2016

NASSAU, Bahamas, Thursday April 7, 2016...

The Bahamas? Minister of Health Dr. Michael Perry Gomez said on Tuesday that the CDC confirmed, through conclusive testing, that the patient who passed away at the Princess Margaret Hospital on March 27 was not suffering from Ebola infection.

The 51-year-old woman had returned to the Bahamas on March 15 after travelling to Johannesburg, South Africa, and was subsequently hospitalized.

?This concretely rules out the possibility of Ebola as the cause of death in this case. The Ministry of Health is grateful for the collaboration with our international partners, including the local Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Representative along with PAHO Washington team which facilitated the testing through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,? he said.

Dr. Gomez said pathological examinations will continue to determine the cause of the woman?s death.

?In other circumstances a post mortem would have already been done, but they could not proceed with the post mortem until we got these results and the results just took long for us to get because of other issues that arose,? he said.
...

http://www.caribbean360.com/news/cdc-rules-ebola-cause-death-bahamian-patient