Posts
UK
Ebola terror at Gatwick as passenger collapses and dies getting off
Sierra Leone flight
August
2014
–
ENGLAND -
Staff tell of fears as jet from Africa is quarantined after the death
of passenger who was ‘sweating and vomiting’ before she
collapsed. Airport staff tonight told of their fears of an Ebola
outbreak after a passenger from Sierra Leone collapsed and died as
she got off a plane at Gatwick. Workers said they were
terrified the virus could spread globally through the busy
international hub from the West African country which is in the grip
of the deadly epidemic. The woman, said to be 72, became ill on the
gangway after she left a Gambia Bird jet with 128 passengers on
board. She died in hospital on Saturday. Ebola has killed 256 people
in Sierra Leone. A total of 826 have died in West Africa since the
outbreak began in February. Tests were carried out to see if the
woman had the disease. The plane was quarantined as officials
desperately tried to trace everyone who had been in contact with the
woman. Airport workers faced an anxious wait to see if the woman had
Ebola. One said: “Everyone’s just petrified. “We’ve all
seen how many people have died from Ebola, especially in Sierra
Leone, and it’s terrifying.”
Speaking
of the horrific moment the passenger collapsed, the shocked staff
member added: “The woman was sweating buckets and vomiting.
“Paramedics arrived to try and help her. The next thing everybody
was there… emergency crews, airfield operations, even immigration.
“They closed down the jet bridge and put the aircraft into
quarantine. “They took everyone’s details, even the guy who fuels
the aircraft.” The plane carrying the woman came from Freetown in
Sierra Leone – a country with the highest number of victims from
the disease. It stopped at Banjul in The Gambia before landing in
Gatwick at 8.15am on Saturday after a five-hour flight. Public Health
England tried to allay fears of an Ebola breakout in Britain. It
said the woman showed no symptoms during the flight. One
official added: “Public Health England is aware a passenger
arriving on a flight from The Gambia that landed at Gatwick airport
on Saturday fell ill shortly after disembarking.
“The
passenger was taken to hospital and sadly died. In line with standard
procedures, tests are being undertaken to determine the cause of
death. The patient’s symptoms suggest that Ebola is very unlikely
but as a precaution this is one of the tests being undertaken. The
patient was not symptomatic on the plane and therefore there is no
risk of Ebola being passed on to either flight crew or other
passengers. “England has world class health care and disease
control systems which are active permanently, regularly tested
and proven to be effective. “As such, if the UK does see a case of
imported Ebola, this will not result in an outbreak in this country.”
Last
week, the Ebola crisis was described as out of control by World
Health Organisation chief Margaret Chan and could be “catastrophic.”
At the same time, Sierra Leone declared a state of emergency and
called in troops to quarantine victims. Liberia also imposed
controls. Ms Chan revealed 60 doctors, nurses and health care workers
had now lost their lives trying to save others. She said: “This
outbreak is moving faster than our efforts to control it. “If the
situation continues to deteriorate, the consequences can be
catastrophic in terms of lost lives but also severe socio-economic
disruption as well as a high risk of spread to other countries.” Ms
Chan met the presidents of Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Ivory
Coast. She told them: “This meeting must mark a turning point in
the outbreak response.”
100
more Ebola deaths reported, as death toll sails beyond 800
http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2014/08/04/100-more-ebola-deaths-reported-as-death-toll-sails-beyond-800/
August
2014 –
AFRICA
–
The surge in Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) cases and deaths in West
Africa continues, particularly in Liberia and Sierra Leone, according
to new numbers released by The World Health Organization Regional
Office for Africa. According to the UN health agency as of 30 July
2014, the cumulative number of cases attributed to EVD in the four
countries (Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Nigeria) stands at 1,
440 including 826 deaths. The situation in Guinea appears to be more
stable during the recent couple of days; however, the outbreak in
Sierra Leone and Liberia “calls for concentrated efforts by all to
address the identified problems such as health facility transmission
and effective contact tracing. More human resources experts need are
requested in these two countries to really tackle the progress of
this outbreak.”
In
Nigeria, two suspected cases among the contacts followed up at the
airport were tested negative for the first PCR test. Another test
will be done 48 hour after to confirm the status. WHO officials also
note that they are seeking possible contacts from the flight to Lagos
disembarked in Lomé, Togo. For more infectious disease news
and information, visit and “like” the Infectious Disease News
Facebook page. The distribution and classification of the EVD cases
are as follows: Guinea, 472 cases (337 confirmed, 122 probable, and
12 suspected) including 346 deaths; Liberia, 391 cases (109
confirmed, 181 probable, and 101 suspected) including 227 deaths;
Sierra Leone, 574 cases (507 confirmed, 41 probable, and 26
suspected) including 252 deaths; and Nigeria, 3 cases (1 probable and
2 suspected) and 1 death.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.