ORAC
20th Apr 2005, 08:07
Johannesburg (SA)
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A woman who fell ill on an aircraft from Angola on Tuesday night and was feared to have Marburg fever appears to have malaria, the health department said on Wednesday.
Department spokesperson Solly Mabotha said the woman, who originally comes from Eritrea, would be held under observation in an isolation ward at Johannesburg Hospital for a "while longer". "Although we have done a thorough screening of the patient, we want to play it safe and that's why we're holding her for a while longer," he said.
Mabotha said Johannesburg Hospital is one of the facilities that have been chosen to keep suspected Marburg victims in isolation.
The woman became ill on the flight from Luanda last night shortly before it was due to land, SA Airways spokesman Onkgopotse JJ Tabane said. She was handed over to the airport health authorities because it was feared she might be infected with the deadly Ebola-like Marburg virus. As a precautionary measure the aircraft was also placed under quarantine.
"The plane has been disinfected and we will not be using it until we get the go-ahead," Tabane said.....
Tabane said the other passengers on the plane from Luanda were allowed to continue their journeys after arrival in Johannesburg. "This was nothing to do with the other passengers, who arrived normally and went home to their families," he said.
-
A woman who fell ill on an aircraft from Angola on Tuesday night and was feared to have Marburg fever appears to have malaria, the health department said on Wednesday.
Department spokesperson Solly Mabotha said the woman, who originally comes from Eritrea, would be held under observation in an isolation ward at Johannesburg Hospital for a "while longer". "Although we have done a thorough screening of the patient, we want to play it safe and that's why we're holding her for a while longer," he said.
Mabotha said Johannesburg Hospital is one of the facilities that have been chosen to keep suspected Marburg victims in isolation.
The woman became ill on the flight from Luanda last night shortly before it was due to land, SA Airways spokesman Onkgopotse JJ Tabane said. She was handed over to the airport health authorities because it was feared she might be infected with the deadly Ebola-like Marburg virus. As a precautionary measure the aircraft was also placed under quarantine.
"The plane has been disinfected and we will not be using it until we get the go-ahead," Tabane said.....
Tabane said the other passengers on the plane from Luanda were allowed to continue their journeys after arrival in Johannesburg. "This was nothing to do with the other passengers, who arrived normally and went home to their families," he said.