Drop Down Menu
  Search...
 
  Business Directory Ad  

 

Suspected Ebola case in Donegal 21.08.14

TESTS are underway into the cause of death of a Donegal man who may have been showing signs of the deadly Ebola virus.
It's understood the deceased person was a father aged about 45 who was orginally from the Mountcharles area, outside Donegal town.
It is understood he had recently returned from Sierra Leone, Africa, where he had worked on a telecommunications project. It is understood he may have been receiving treatment for suspected malaria.
The emergency authorities were alerted to his death in the early hours of this morning. His body is currently in isolation at Letterkenny General Hospital mortuary.
The Health Service Exectuive (HSE) issued a statement today saying the person had recently returned from an area of Africa hit by the ebola outbreak.
“Until a diagnosis is confirmed, and as a precautionary measure, the individual’s remains will stay in the mortuary pending the laboratory results which are expected late tomorrow,” the HSE said.
People in Mountcharles are said to be in a state of shock tonight.
Hundreds of visitors also visited Letterkenny General Hospital today unaware of the unfolding drama.
The HSE Health Protection Surveillance Centre today insisted that the chances of anyone contracting Ebola are "extremely low".
“We await the outcome of the laboratory tests before we will know whether or not this individual had contracted Ebola virus disease,” she said.
“The appropriate public health guidelines are being followed at every stage in this process as a precaution," said the head of the centre, Dr Darina O'Flanagan.
Medics and experts in contagious diseases say Ebola is not transmitted as easily or in the same way as conditions such as 'flu. They say that the chances of Ebola spreading from person to person in the community are extremely low.
Add to Favorites :: Return to > Top Stories    > News    > Home