Results rule out Ebola suspicion in Portugal
Since the spring outburst of the dreaded Ebola virus, the world has been living in terror that the disease may spread to all corners of the world, so at least the Portuguese will breathe a sigh of relief when they hear that results rule out Ebola suspicion in Portugal.
Last week, the first person to contract the Ebola virus inside Europe was discovered and confirmed in Spain. Before this case was confirmed, all the other people had contracted the virus in Africa, so there has been growing concern that the virus may have spread to Europe, brought by the Ebola patients in critical condition brought to the continent for treatment. So when a woman was admitted last Sunday to Hospital de Sao Joao in Porto, Portugal returning from Africa and presenting symptoms resembling those of the fatal virus, everybody’s hearts skipped a beat.
Fortunately, test results show that the 30 year old woman is Ebola negative and out of danger. The symptoms that alerted everybody were indeed representative of Ebola, but they are also common to other diseases, such as malaria and typhoid fever. This is not the first false Ebola alarm in Europe. Patients with suspicion of the disease were recorded in Spain, Greece, Germany and Romania, to name just a few, as well as other three cases in the very Portugal.
The Ebola virus epidemic broke out in December 2013 in West Africa. Starting in Guinea, it soon spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone. The ongoing Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) epidemic has taken over 4000 lives and is the most grave in recorded history.
For the moment at least, Portugal can rest assured that the Ebola virus has not (yet) reached its borders, although it is vital that protocol be respected and that people become aware of the increasing threat of this feared epidemic.
