Malawi govt denies reports of suspected Ebola case

Malawi government has denied that there is a suspected case of the Ebola virus at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH).

Some media outlets reported that Malawi registered its first Ebola case after a woman with symptoms similar to the disease was referred to QECH on Saturday.

But the Ministry of Health  has said there are no confirmed or suspected cases of Ebola in Malawi/

The Ministry of Health spokesperson Henry Chimbali said the woman, who is eight months pregnant, was referred to QECH from Mwanza District Hospital  because she had symptoms such as fever and skin rash, which are similar to Ebola’s typical signs.

“The patient was attended to by one of our doctors at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital and because the signs she was showing are similar to Ebola, a Rapid Response Team, which was trained on the infection, was called right away and it established that she does not have Ebola, but rather it is chicken pox.

“The woman is currently being treated as an in-patient at the hospital where she is receiving medical assistance. And because chicken pox is infectious, she has been isolated so that she will not infect others,” said Chimbali.

Chimbali said there is no need to panic and live in unnecessary fear because “when the country registers an Ebola case, we will not hide, we will tell them because it is an issue of national interest.”

There is no licensed treatment for Ebola, a virus transmitted by contact with bodily fluids, so doctors have turned to the limited supply of untested drugs to treat some cases.