The flu-like illness that has killed four people in Johannesburg is not airborne but is contracted through bodily fluids, said a spokesperson at the Morningside Medi-Clinic on Monday.
”The disease is transferable through bodily fluids and is not airborne. We want to ensure that there’s no panic in the broader public … There is no outbreak at the hospital. We are currently don’t have patients with the same symptoms,” said regional marketing manger Malinda Pelser.
Tests were not conclusive of any particular disease, including viral haemorrhagic fevers.
Pelser said hospital staff who had been in contact with the four people who died of the illness were being continuously monitored.
”We are monitoring those who treated the four patients who passed away, but it’s in the hands of the Department of Health to trace and monitor families and other people,” she said.
The latest victims at the hospital were a cleaner and a nurse — both died on Sunday. However, Pelser said, the cleaner was not employed by the hospital, but by an outsourcing company.
Another, a Zambian woman who arrived at Morningside Medi-Clinic with flu-like symptoms on September 12, was treated for tick-bite fever and other potential infections. She died two days later.
A Zambian paramedic who accompanied her into the country died last week.
Pelser said the cleaner had been off work when she fell sick and the hospital called her home to enquire about her health.
”She fell ill off duty. She had been having problems with her health for months.”
Although the woman had the same symptoms as three others who died, this could not be confirmed because of her health history.
The hospital would follow strict protocol and infection-control measures, including isolation, if any other patient presented the same flu-like symptoms.
The Health Department said it would conduct tests and post-mortems to establish the cause of these deaths.
Those who visited Zambia in the last month and were experiencing flu-like symptoms or raised temperatures were urged to immediately go to their nearest hospital for examination. — Sapa