Today Is December 29th, 2014 Time: 12:20 Hrs. PDT HEADLINE: Ebola Case Confirmed In Glasgow Transcript: A healthcare worker who returned from Sierra Leone on Sunday night has been diagnosed with Ebola and is receiving treatment in Glasgow, the Scottish government has said. The woman has been isolated and is receiving treatment in the specialist Brownlee unit for infectious diseases on the Gartnavel hospital campus. In a statement the Scottish government said the patient was a healthcare worker who was helping to combat the disease in west Africa. She returned to Scotland from Sierra Leone late on Sunday night via Casablanca and London Heathrow, arriving at Glasgow airport on British Airways flight BA1478 at about 11.30pm. The flight from Casablanca was with a Moroccan airline. The flight number is not yet known but Public Health England will be contacting passengers who were on board. The patient was admitted to hospital early on Monday morning after feeling unwell and was put in isolation at 7.50am. The Scottish government added: “All possible contacts with the patient are now being investigated and anyone deemed to be at risk will be contacted and closely monitored. However, having been diagnosed in the very early stages of the illness, the risk to others is considered extremely low.” The first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has chaired a meeting of the Scottish government resilience committee to ensure all necessary steps are being taken, and has also spoken to the prime minister, David Cameron. In a hastily arranged press conference, she said the risk to other people’s health was “extremely low given the early stage of diagnosis. The patient was displaying no symptoms of the kind that would lead to onwards transmission that would put other people at risk.” According to UK and Scottish protocol for anyone diagnosed with Ebola, the patient will be transferred to the high-level isolation unit in the Royal Free hospital, London, as soon as possible. This is where the facilities, staff and systems are in place to ensure the best quality and safest care. The British nurse William Pooley was successfully treated at the hospital after he contracted Ebola in Sierra Leone last year. Dr Alisdair MacConnachie, the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde consultant in infectious diseases, who has been treating the patient, told the press conference the patient had identified that she had a fever in the early hours of Monday morning. She was then transferred to the Brownlee centre using a specialist ambulance service and admitted to the isolation facility. She had no contact with other parts of the NHS or any accident and emergency facility. MacConnachie described her condition as “quite stable and not showing any great clinical concern at the minute”. Asked about the patient’s prospects, he said being clinically stable at this stage “should translate into a good prognosis”. A telephone helpline has been set up for anyone who was on the Heathrow to Glasgow flight. The number is 08000 858531. Sturgeon said: “Our first thoughts at this time must be with the patient diagnosed with Ebola and their friends and family. I wish them a speedy recovery. “Scotland has been preparing for this possibility from the beginning of the outbreak in west Africa and I am confident that we are well prepared. “We have the robust procedures in place to identify cases rapidly. Our health service also has the expertise and facilities to ensure that confirmed Ebola cases such as this are contained and isolated effectively minimising any potential spread of the disease. “Scotland’s NHS has proved it is well able to cope with infectious diseases in the past, such as swine flu, and I am confident we will be able to respond effectively again.” A handful of Ebola cases are expected in the UK in the coming months, the chief medical officer has said. Dame Sally Davies said the NHS remained “well prepared” for the deadly virus, which has claimed more than 7,000 lives across west Africa. The health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, told MPs in October that a number of Ebola cases were expected in the UK by Christmas as he introduced screening for the disease at some of the country’s airports. But figures from Public Health England show that 112 of the 113 tests on suspected Ebola sufferers were negative up to 4 December. Pooley, 29, contracted the virus while working in Sierra Leone. He was given the all-clear in September following treatment at the Royal Free hospital. Davies said: “The risk of the general public in this country catching Ebola remains very low. However, we still estimate that there could be a handful of cases in this country over the coming months. “The NHS is very well prepared for Ebola and the requirement for screening at selected ports of entry is being kept continually under review.” Source: theguardian/world/2014/dec/29/ebola-case-confirmed-glasgow-healthcare-worker
Posted on: Mon, 29 Dec 2014 20:26:22 +0000
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