Latin American nations are intensifying their prevention and control efforts to fight the advance of the deadly Ebola virus.
Latin American nations are intensifying their prevention and control efforts to fight the advance of the deadly Ebola virus.
A suspected case of the disease in Brazil raised the alert level in that country and in neighboring nations. Fortunately, it turned out to be a false alarm – Brazil’s Ministry of Health reported October 13 that a second test for Ebola had come back negative for Souleymane Bah, a 47-year-old from Guinea. But the good news hasn’t lulled officials into lowering their guard.
“Security measures will continue, and we will take their implementation very seriously,” Brazilian Minister of Health Arthur Chioro told O Globo
newspaper .
Bah arrived in São Paulo on September 19 from Guinea, and requested asylum once in the state of Santa Catarina. On his second trip to Cascavel, in the state of Paraná, he went to a health clinic after coming down with a fever, which is one of the symptoms exhibited by people infected with Ebola.
From there, the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) airlifted him to the Tom Jobim international airport in Rio de Janeiro. He then was transferred to the Evandro Chagas hospital, run by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), where he was placed in an isolation room.
The Instituto Evandro Chagas, which is internationally known for testing for hemorrhagic fevers, tested Bah’s blood, and confirmed that Bah’s suspected infection was a false alarm. At that point, medical authorities stopped monitoring the 64 people who had contact with Bah after he arrived in Cascavel.
Argentina on alert
Medical authorities in other Latin American countries are also preparing to deal with cases of Ebola.
In Argentina, the Ministry of Health is enacting health protocols at international points of entry to identify people with infections. Before an airplane lands in Argentina, the plane’s crew must report to Argentinian health officials the presence of passengers with symptoms similar to Ebola.
“The Ministry of Health has activated various alert measures in the event cases [of Ebola] are detected,” Argentine Chief-of-Staff Jorge Capitanich said on October 10.
Argentina is also using a special diagnostic method for rapid confirmation of suspected cases of Ebola: a device invented by the Malbrán Institute in Buenos Aires amplifies the Ebola virus’ genome if the virus is present in the blood sample being tested, thereby allowing it to be detected.
“The tests can confirm or negate suspected cases in less than 24 hours,” said Argentina’s Vice Minister of Health Jaime Lazovski.
Argentinian health authorities have designated the Muñiz Hospital in Buenos Aires as a center for suspected cases of Ebola. The hospital has 14 beds set aside for such cases.
“We have decades of experience in caring for patients who require isolation,” Hospital director Rubén Masini Muñiz, told newspaper Clarín
on October 10.
Three other hospitals in the greater Buenos Aires region are prepared to treat Ebola patients, according to the Ministry of Health spoke person. They are the Néstor Kirchner Hospital, for adults; the Juan Garrahan Hospital, for children; and the Central Military Hospital, for law enforcement officers and defense personnel who became infected on missions to Africa.
In addition to these hospitals, medical officials in every province in Argentina have identified hospital centers that would treat Ebola patients.
Colombia, Peru, Chile, and Uruguay prepare for Ebola
Meanwhile, in Colombia, the Ministry of Health’s spokesperson informed that they have scheduled a simulated treatment of an Ebola patient in Cartagena for October 20, in an effort to help hospitals prepare for the deadly disease.
The Peruvian Ministry of Health is also planning to conduct simulations to test patient care and the best ways to transport people infected with Ebola,” the Ministry’s spokesperson said. These simulations comply with a national plan the Peruvian government approved on October 10. The plan creates isolation areas in hospitals in Lima and Callao, according to RPP Noticias
.
In Chile, health authorities recently convened a committee of doctors, including epidemiologists, to support the oversight and control efforts against Ebola, the Health Ministry’ spoke person said. Members of the committee include Dr. Ximena Aguilera, who in 2009 led efforts to combat the H1N1 pandemic. Aguilera has also participated on international teams to battle outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in China in 2004.
Uruguay is likewise strengthening its control measures to detect Ebola. All passengers arriving in the country must complete a questionnaire about their health status, the Uruguayan Ministry of Health told El Observador
on October 9.
More than 4,000 people have died of Ebola
Latin American countries are preparing to deal with a virus that the World Health Organization (WHO) warns is “the most severe acute health emergency in modern times.”
“I have never seen a health emergency so strongly threaten the survival of societies and governments in countries that are already impoverished,” WHO’s director-general Margaret Chan said in a statement read on her behalf during a health conference in Manila, Philippines, on October 13. She could not attend the event because she is coordinating responses to Ebola.
WHO estimates that the disease had caused more than 4,000 deaths as of October 10, but warns this figure could be higher. WHO has counted 8,399 cases of the infection in seven countries, divided into two groups: Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone – the most severely affected – and Nigeria, Senegal, Spain and the United States.
Ebola is a serious infectious disease transmitted between humans via direct contact with bodily fluids and secretions, such as blood, urine, semen, feces, tears, mucous, saliva, sweat and vomit. It can also be transmitted by contact with infected human corpses or infected animals, in addition to contaminated clothes, needles and other objects.
The virus was discovered in 1976 in a settlement near the Ebola River, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (at the time, called Zaire). Since then, several outbreaks have been recorded in Africa. The current outbreak began at the end of 2013.
Symptoms include a high fever, headaches, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and general weakness – and may appear as late as 21 days after exposure. Those exposed to the virus are only infectious while they are suffering symptoms of the disease.
The mortality rate varies from 50 percent to 90 percent, depending on the strain of the virus. Since there is no specific treatment, patients receive general care to alleviate their symptoms.
Latin American nations are intensifying their prevention and control efforts to fight the advance of the deadly Ebola virus.
A suspected case of the disease in Brazil raised the alert level in that country and in neighboring nations. Fortunately, it turned out to be a false alarm – Brazil’s Ministry of Health reported October 13 that a second test for Ebola had come back negative for Souleymane Bah, a 47-year-old from Guinea. But the good news hasn’t lulled officials into lowering their guard.
“Security measures will continue, and we will take their implementation very seriously,” Brazilian Minister of Health Arthur Chioro told O Globo
newspaper .
Bah arrived in São Paulo on September 19 from Guinea, and requested asylum once in the state of Santa Catarina. On his second trip to Cascavel, in the state of Paraná, he went to a health clinic after coming down with a fever, which is one of the symptoms exhibited by people infected with Ebola.
From there, the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) airlifted him to the Tom Jobim international airport in Rio de Janeiro. He then was transferred to the Evandro Chagas hospital, run by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), where he was placed in an isolation room.
The Instituto Evandro Chagas, which is internationally known for testing for hemorrhagic fevers, tested Bah’s blood, and confirmed that Bah’s suspected infection was a false alarm. At that point, medical authorities stopped monitoring the 64 people who had contact with Bah after he arrived in Cascavel.
Argentina on alert
Medical authorities in other Latin American countries are also preparing to deal with cases of Ebola.
In Argentina, the Ministry of Health is enacting health protocols at international points of entry to identify people with infections. Before an airplane lands in Argentina, the plane’s crew must report to Argentinian health officials the presence of passengers with symptoms similar to Ebola.
“The Ministry of Health has activated various alert measures in the event cases [of Ebola] are detected,” Argentine Chief-of-Staff Jorge Capitanich said on October 10.
Argentina is also using a special diagnostic method for rapid confirmation of suspected cases of Ebola: a device invented by the Malbrán Institute in Buenos Aires amplifies the Ebola virus’ genome if the virus is present in the blood sample being tested, thereby allowing it to be detected.
“The tests can confirm or negate suspected cases in less than 24 hours,” said Argentina’s Vice Minister of Health Jaime Lazovski.
Argentinian health authorities have designated the Muñiz Hospital in Buenos Aires as a center for suspected cases of Ebola. The hospital has 14 beds set aside for such cases.
“We have decades of experience in caring for patients who require isolation,” Hospital director Rubén Masini Muñiz, told newspaper Clarín
on October 10.
Three other hospitals in the greater Buenos Aires region are prepared to treat Ebola patients, according to the Ministry of Health spoke person. They are the Néstor Kirchner Hospital, for adults; the Juan Garrahan Hospital, for children; and the Central Military Hospital, for law enforcement officers and defense personnel who became infected on missions to Africa.
In addition to these hospitals, medical officials in every province in Argentina have identified hospital centers that would treat Ebola patients.
Colombia, Peru, Chile, and Uruguay prepare for Ebola
Meanwhile, in Colombia, the Ministry of Health’s spokesperson informed that they have scheduled a simulated treatment of an Ebola patient in Cartagena for October 20, in an effort to help hospitals prepare for the deadly disease.
The Peruvian Ministry of Health is also planning to conduct simulations to test patient care and the best ways to transport people infected with Ebola,” the Ministry’s spokesperson said. These simulations comply with a national plan the Peruvian government approved on October 10. The plan creates isolation areas in hospitals in Lima and Callao, according to RPP Noticias
.
In Chile, health authorities recently convened a committee of doctors, including epidemiologists, to support the oversight and control efforts against Ebola, the Health Ministry’ spoke person said. Members of the committee include Dr. Ximena Aguilera, who in 2009 led efforts to combat the H1N1 pandemic. Aguilera has also participated on international teams to battle outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in China in 2004.
Uruguay is likewise strengthening its control measures to detect Ebola. All passengers arriving in the country must complete a questionnaire about their health status, the Uruguayan Ministry of Health told El Observador
on October 9.
More than 4,000 people have died of Ebola
Latin American countries are preparing to deal with a virus that the World Health Organization (WHO) warns is “the most severe acute health emergency in modern times.”
“I have never seen a health emergency so strongly threaten the survival of societies and governments in countries that are already impoverished,” WHO’s director-general Margaret Chan said in a statement read on her behalf during a health conference in Manila, Philippines, on October 13. She could not attend the event because she is coordinating responses to Ebola.
WHO estimates that the disease had caused more than 4,000 deaths as of October 10, but warns this figure could be higher. WHO has counted 8,399 cases of the infection in seven countries, divided into two groups: Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone – the most severely affected – and Nigeria, Senegal, Spain and the United States.
Ebola is a serious infectious disease transmitted between humans via direct contact with bodily fluids and secretions, such as blood, urine, semen, feces, tears, mucous, saliva, sweat and vomit. It can also be transmitted by contact with infected human corpses or infected animals, in addition to contaminated clothes, needles and other objects.
The virus was discovered in 1976 in a settlement near the Ebola River, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (at the time, called Zaire). Since then, several outbreaks have been recorded in Africa. The current outbreak began at the end of 2013.
Symptoms include a high fever, headaches, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and general weakness – and may appear as late as 21 days after exposure. Those exposed to the virus are only infectious while they are suffering symptoms of the disease.
The mortality rate varies from 50 percent to 90 percent, depending on the strain of the virus. Since there is no specific treatment, patients receive general care to alleviate their symptoms.
Sadly, some viruses are coming out of the African continent, which voraciously devour the people, all due to a lack of hygiene and parents’ irresponsibility by procreating large families. They do not have the ability to support, they seem not to understand the problem and bring to this continent more children to increase the belts of poor people, hoping for charitable organizations to be the solution to their idleness. They lost all hope and live with whatever life has to give them. European countries that had colonies in Africa and exploited their mines of gold diamonds, create a support group and help those beings forgotten by their former colonizers, who put an end to their fauna with their safaris and desire for pelts to sell at a good price on the European market. Prevention is very important. The governments of these countries are right. Take measures before this “bomb” explodes and takes others with it. Nobody knows who you’ve been around, so a good deal of care is of utmost importance. Get away from that. We can’t be waiting for the government. We have to do our own part. Life is good, so we have to fight for it. I want to interact with news from all the states across the country. I want to congratulate all the countries that fight against drugs. I opened the link for volunteers on G1, but I can’t find it. You guys need to report better news. It is still very troubling that today in the 21st century, mankind is still unable to find cures for so many diseases that are always emerging on our planet. I am 58 years old, and you would always hear about research to combat cancer, and thus far, medicine is still incapable. It emerged on a small scale in 1976, and now, it worries authorites worldwide. Ebola, another virus without any prospect of being eradicated. I read the comment by Mr. Capt. R. Guilhermo Vanegas Lara, and I don’t agree with his arguments regarding the poor in Africa, since AIDS is also an epidemic that has spread around the world, and it isn’t a disease restricted to poverty. The government should invest more on research against diseases like Ebola, Aids and many other types, in addition to more investment on stem cell research, which has been very neglected. Let’s advance in medicine in order to eliminate this disease. I believe that it won’t reach Brazil. Prevention avoids the worst. That’s it. I liked the information. Let’s combat Ebola. It’s better to be prepared than to be sorry in other words be aware because not being so can cost too much from any point of view since health is worth more than anything in the world and very poor countries please prohibit the entry of persons with clear symptoms of that disease and not out of cruelty but because the country does not have the capacity to contain the epidemic please pay close attention. Alarm, alert, wake up save yourselves. I say this because I love everyone very much, especially my distant homies I especially hope that those who have been affected by Ebola do not give up on their dreams. I was diagnose April 17,2015 and find out I’m HIV positive.I was scared because there is no cure for HIV/AIDS but today some people still don’t believe that there is cure for HIV, it can only be cured through Africans root and herbs,and our doctor’s here in USA few of them know’s about the African herbal medicine can cure Hiv but they chooses to hide it from us just to make a sales of ARV DRUGS. I did a research online finding way to get rid of my disease,I saw a comment about a herbal doctor on internet Name Dr Owona who has cured several disease with his powerful herbal medicine, I contacted him on whats-app, chat with him explain my self to him.He said he can cure hiv perfectly well , he gave me his request which i send to him. within 5 days he sent me the herbal medicine through ups courier delivering service And told me how to take the medicine for 3 weeks to get cured,I did for 3 weeks, within this 3 weeks i notice a very big change in my health and i new some thing great has happened then i went to confirm my result it was absolutely Negative.The doctor who new i was hiv positive was asking me how come i am negative, what did it took to get cure and were did i get this medicine from and how did i get rid of it I told him every thing about the herbal medicine that cure me. imagine doctor telling me not to let anyone know about it,I wasn’t shock though i knew they know about the herbal cure but chose to hide it in other to make sales on ARV DRUGS,if you are HIV positive please contact my savior drowonaspelltemple@gmail.com or WHATSAPP him through this number +2348115204568.. OR you can go through his FACEBOOK PAGEhttps://web.facebook.com/search/top/?q=dr.owona%20spell%20temple&em=1