Ebola – has the virus arrived in South Africa?

It's the stuff of nightmares – the not unreasonable fear that the deadly Ebola virus sweeping across West Africa could find its way down south, and South  Africa is not safe after all.  In what could be the first case, a 37-year-old South African man working as a health and safety officer in a mining operation in Liberia  has been admitted to the Charlotte Maxeke (formerly the Johannesburg General) Hospital showing possible symptoms. That's frightening enough – for the patient and anyone with whom he has been in close contact. Gugulethu Mfuphi and Alec Hogg speak to Prof Lucille Blumberg, Deputy Director of the Division of Public Health Surveillance and Response, on the real risk of haemmorhagic fever in SA. She believes it's unlikely the man has Ebola. Concerns redirect the spotlight back to what people can do to protect themselves. MS

GUGULETHU MFUPHI:  Prof Lucille Blumberg is the Deputy Director from the Division of Public Health Surveillance and Response.  She joins us on the line to talk about the suspected Ebola case in the country.  It's good to have you with us. From what we understand, we've tried to pin you down several times for an interview, and it's good to have you with us on the line, Lucille.  This crisis has been keeping you quite busy.  From a South African perspective, are we managing to militate against the potential risk here?

PROF LUCILLE BLUMBERG:  I think so.  The risk is low.  I think there are a lot of things in place, and I think the most important is for healthcare workers, doctors and nurses, to recognise any potential imported cases quickly, and to contain this.

ALEC HOGG:  Have you been brought into the loop, on the case at the Johannesburg General Hospital?

PROF LUCILLE BLUMBERG:  Yes, we've been involved, there is a system in place, where doctors and nurses apply certain criteria, to patients with fever from Africa and the affected countries, and then we help to evaluate if anything further is needed, so yes, we've been doing that quite actively at the moment.

ALEC HOGG:  Is there any danger in that one?

PROF LUCILLE BLUMBERG:  I think the risk is really low, and I think there will be a number of tests that we will do, on patients where…  Yes, there's a really, low risk but I think it would be reasonable to do the tests – we've tried out the systems and they've actually worked pretty well –and I think also to create confidence in the system.  I think there are, outside of the definite cases – and we haven't had any of those – there is reason to do some additional tests.

ALEC HOGG:  So the risk is low, on the basis that …  Is it low that the person who has been brought in, actually has Ebola?

PROF LUCILLE BLUMBERG:  No, the risk is low of the diagnosis of Ebola, so while he's been working in the country where Ebola is very, well documented (it's Liberia), he's not had direct contact with patients who are infected, and that really is the only way that you can transmit Ebola to other people.  It is not transmitted in any other way.

ALEC HOGG:  Lucille, we heard this morning – and it's an unconfirmed report – that there is an aircraft in quarantine at OR Tambo that's come from West Africa.  You would know if that was true or not.

PROF LUCILLE BLUMBERG:  No, we don't have any direct flights from the outbreak affected areas.  You must remember that there are routine things in place for all aircraft if there is an ill passenger on board, and there are many reasons for that.  Probably the most common would be gastroenteritis from food.  Somebody would assess the patient, and then they would manage them, and then the pilot has to sign a document, a manifest, before passengers are released.  I think people are being a bit more cautious at this time, but there is nothing to suggest that there is a case or concern about Ebola at all.

GUGULETHU MFUPHI:  Thank you so much to Professor Prof Lucille Blumberg.  She's the Deputy Director of the Division of Public Health and Surveillance and Response.  On that educational note, Alec, at least we've learnt a couple of things today and no reason to panic, for the moment.

ALEC HOGG:  Don't get gastro when you fly into OR Tambo because the whole aircraft will be impounded.  I've had a couple of cases, thanks to some dodgy prawns.  That's the one thing you never eat on an aeroplane – dodgy prawns.