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. |
