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Health ministry issues alert on Ebola
2007-12-12 09:50:08
By Guardian Correspondent
The government has called on people living in border regions to take precautions in the face of a possible outbreak of Ebola, which has so far killed 23 people and hit 101 others in Uganda.
Wilson Mukama, Permanent Secretary in the Health and Social Welfare ministry, said in a press statement issued in Dar es Salaam yesterday that people living in villages bordering Uganda were at great risk of contracting the killer disease.
He said Ebola has no known cure and the ministry has therefore taken a number of preventive measures, including dispatching medical teams to regions at greatest risks of being hit. These are Kagera, Mara and Mwanza.
``The experts will monitor suspicious cases and examine patients with symptoms similar to those of Ebola to find out whether they are safe,`` he pointed out.
Mukama said the experts would also provide training to health personnel at all district and regional hospitals on how to handle the disease.
This would include case management,infection prevention and control, and intensifying surveillance.
The government has already prepared flyers for immediate distribution throughout the country to enable the people know about the disease, he added.
However, he explained that no single Ebola case has been reported in Tanzania.
Ebola symptoms include fever, muscular pain and headache, followed by vomiting, diarrhea and skin rashes.
In some cases it causes liver failure and skin bleeding, the symptoms identifiable within two to 21 days after infection.
The disease was first reported in Uganda at the end of last month and among the 23 killed are nurses and doctors.
A total of 12 other doctors are understood to be still down with the disease.
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