After trip to Africa: Man with suspected Ebola in intensive care in Czech Republic
- Peter Althaus
Peter Althaus
The man in question may have contracted the highly infectious disease Ebola while traveling to Africa. Tests are now expected to provide clarity.
A man has been admitted to a hospital in the Czech Republic with suspected Ebola . The suspected case triggered a major emergency response and fire service response. The patient was taken to a special isolation ward at Prague's Bulovka Hospital under strict security measures, CNN Prima News reported. The American recently returned from a trip to the Congo.
The approximately 40-year-old man initially presented himself at the hospital in the South Bohemian town of Tabor, about 80 kilometers south of Prague. Extensive disinfection measures were carried out there on Friday evening. "I can confirm that the patient has already left our hospital," said Ivo Houška, director of the Tabor Hospital.
The results of the tests would be available on Saturday morning at the earliest, a spokeswoman for the Bulovka University Hospital told the TV station. The samples would have to be sent to a laboratory in Germany.
The isolation ward where the man is being treated is hermetically sealed and has its own ventilation and water treatment system. Staff may only enter it wearing sealed protective clothing. Bulovka Hospital is the only one in the Czech Republic with such a ward.
Illnesses caused by the Ebola virus and the related Marburg virus are classified as hemorrhagic fevers, characterized by fever and bleeding . Infection spreads from person to person through direct contact with infected individuals and their blood, body fluids, and secretions. Depending on the virus species, mortality rates range between 30 and 90 percent.
The largest Ebola outbreak worldwide occurred in West Africa between 2013 and 2016. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there were more than 28,000 cases and over 11,000 deaths. However, the WHO estimates that the number of unreported cases is higher due to insufficient laboratory capacity. There was another wave in the Congo from 2018 to 2020, resulting in over 2,200 deaths. The most recent significant outbreak occurred in Uganda from 2012 to 2023, with 77 deaths.
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