Social media trolls claiming that eight cases of the deadly Ebola hemorrhagic fever had been reported in the country are baseless, the Ministry of Health said yesterday. “The Ministry of Health would like to inform the public that there are no Ebola cases reported or suspected at this time in Rwanda. Any confirmed Ebola case in Rwanda will be investigated on time and the public will be informed,” the ministry said in a statement. “The Ministry of Health is closely monitoring the situation and several preventive measures have been established including raising awareness among the travellers, flight attendants, staff at airports and border posts. Educating and sensitising the general population on prevention, symptoms and mode of transmission of Ebola.” The ministry said it had strengthened its surveillance and set up emergency management systems and, health workers had been trained and are vigilant. This, as reiterated, will enable timely detection, notification and appropriate management of any suspected cases. “In addition to the trainings and availing the required logistics like isolation facilities, protective gear, ambulances and other equipment, the existing surveillance response team in all districts are being boosted and given refresher training.” The statement stressed that Rwanda is prepared to handle any cases in case of an outbreak. Ever since the Ebola outbreak in parts of West Africa, regional countries have upped surveillance to keep the risk at bay. Treatment trials The virus has so far mainly been confined to the West African countries of Guinea Bissau, Sierra Leone and Liberia, even though cases have been reported in Nigeria. The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday said the death toll from the Ebola in West Africa had risen to 932. Ebola is transmitted by contact with body fluids of a patient. However, during the incubation period (2-21 days), the infected person is well enough to travel and cannot transmit the virus. Next week, WHO will convene medical ethicists to explore the use of experimental treatment in the ongoing outbreak in West Africa. The UN agency acknowledges that currently, there is no registered medicine or vaccine against the virus, but there are several experimental options under development. The recent treatment of two health workers with experimental medicine in the US has raised questions about whether medicine that has never been tested and shown to be safe in people should be used in the outbreak and, given the limited medicine available, if it is used, who should receive it.
