Ebola scare hits Kabale hospital
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Tension has gripped health workers and patients at Kabale Regional Referral Hospital following the admission of a patient bearing symptoms similar to those of Ebola on Thursday afternoon.
Kabale. Tension has gripped health workers and patients at Kabale Regional Referral Hospital following the admission of a patient bearing symptoms similar to those of Ebola on Thursday afternoon.
The hospital’s principal nursing officer, Sister Christine Akurut, said yesterday morning that samples had been picked from the patient and taken to the Uganda Virus Research Institute in Entebbe for examination.
“We have isolated the patient in a separate room as we wait for the results from Entebbe. The patient, in his mid 20s, was admitted here and had almost all the symptoms of an Ebola patient. We have enough protective gear that we were left with in October 2012, when there was Marburg fever outbreak. Most of our staff are trained in handling Ebola and Marburg fevers and I think there is no need for patients and other health workers to get scared,” Sister Akurut said.
She also said another patient with similar symptoms was briefly admitted at the hospital on Thursday evening before he was referred to Mbarara University Teaching Hospital because he had high fevers and bleeding from different body openings, among other symptoms similar to Ebola fever.
She advised the health workers to ensure they use protective gear while handling patients with symptoms similar to those of Ebola or Marburg fevers to avoid infection from them.
Caretakers of patients in other wards at the hospital expressed worry after news circulated that there was a suspected Ebola patient who had been first admitted to the general ward.
Some of them said they were considering to run away from the hospital for fear of contracting the deadly disease, but Sister Akurut insisted the hospital is well equipped. (NMG)
