IF A Slovak citizen were diagnosed with the Ebola virus, he or she would be hospitalised at the Clinic of Infectology and Geographical Medicine in Bratislava, a specialised department dealing with infectious diseases including imported contagions, the Slovak Public Health Authority (ÚZV) informed the SITA newswire. An epidemic of this contagious disease has broken out in western Africa and experts have expressed concerns of further spreading.
A patient with suspected Ebola would be immediately hospitalised and put into isolation. If the diagnosis was confirmed, Slovakia would have to report its occurrence to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Also it would be necessary to immediately search for and examine persons who were in contact with the Ebola-suffering patient. If a Slovak citizen were diagnosed with Ebola abroad, for example in Africa, his or her transport would be complicated as this would require an airplane and isolation of the patient on board, as well as consultations with the WHO and states whose air space the plane would pass through.
Even though the risk of catching Ebola, which is currently afflicting several African countries, is low in Europe for now, European countries including Slovakia have taken several preventive measures. The ÚZV has issued a leaflet about this haemorrhagic fever with the aim of prevention and increasing health awareness of citizens, the TASR newswire stated. The leaflet contains important information about the possible transmission and symptoms of Ebola virus, risks of contagion as well as recommendations for travellers who have returned from countries where Ebola has occurred. They should monitor their health for at least 21 days after their arrival, as this is the incubation period of the virus. First symptoms are the sudden onset of fever, fatigue, muscle pain, headache and sore throat. This is followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, symptoms of impaired kidney and liver function, and in some cases, both internal and external bleeding (e.g. oozing from the gums, blood in the stools).
