From DaVibes
September 27, 2014

THE Ministry of Health says there is no truth to information circulating about a case of Ebola in Jamaica.

“We are not investigating a suspected case, and we have no reason to consider that anyone in the country at this time is suspected of having Ebola,” acting permanent secretary in the ministry, Dr Kevin Harvey, told journalists at an impromptu press briefing in New Kingston yesterday.

According to Harvey, the rumours started when a doctor, who had recently returned to the island from Trinidad and Tobago, was admitted to the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) on Thursday with a reported case of bleeding.

He said the 65-year old senior physician has fully recovered and “there is no consideration of a diagnosis of Ebola.”

“He has been comprehensively investigated by our medical team, has recovered, has had investigations including a computerised tomography (CT) scan, which shows that the person had a fracture to the skull due to a fall, which resulted in the bleeding,” Dr Harvey disclosed.

He noted further that the doctor had not travelled to any Ebola-affected country and there was no possibility of contact with any infected person.

At the time that the doctor was admitted to UHWI, an Ebola planning meeting and training for medical officers was underway at the facility, and this, Dr Harvey surmised, may have led to the rumours.

“So, maybe that is what heightened the suspicion yesterday (Friday),” he said.

Jamaica Observer

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