Harare: Health authorities shut down a hospital in the Zimbabwean capital on Thursday to isolate a patient who is being tested for Ebola, an official said.
Other patients in the 35-bed Wilkins Hospital had been transferred to alternative health facilities, Prosper Chonzi, the Harare municipality's director for health services, told AFP.
"We cannot mix patients as you know and you really want trained medical people to monitor the patient," he said.
Chonzi said specimens taken from the female patient, whose nationality and identity were not disclosed, had been sent to a laboratory in neighbouring South Africa.
"We are yet to get the results but it's unlikely that it will be Ebola," Chonzi said.
The Ebola outbreak has killed nearly 3,900 people so far this year, mainly in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
Zimbabwe has not recorded any cases and health authorities are testing incoming travellers at airports. No details were disclosed on whether the woman had travelled to west Africa.
A special isolation unit was set up at the Harare hospital where the suspected patient is under observation and health workers were said to be trained in how to deal with the disease.
Ebola is transmitted by close contact with the bodily fluids of a person who is showing symptoms of infection such as fever, aches, vomiting and diarrhoea, or who has recently died of the virus.
Zimbabwe's health sector has been battling to recover after years of neglect in the past decade as the country reels under political and economic crises.
A cholera outbreak in 2008 killed 4,000 people.
Other patients in the 35-bed Wilkins Hospital had been transferred to alternative health facilities, Prosper Chonzi, the Harare municipality's director for health services, told AFP.
"We cannot mix patients as you know and you really want trained medical people to monitor the patient," he said.
"We are yet to get the results but it's unlikely that it will be Ebola," Chonzi said.
Advertisement
Zimbabwe has not recorded any cases and health authorities are testing incoming travellers at airports. No details were disclosed on whether the woman had travelled to west Africa.
Advertisement
Ebola is transmitted by close contact with the bodily fluids of a person who is showing symptoms of infection such as fever, aches, vomiting and diarrhoea, or who has recently died of the virus.
Advertisement
A cholera outbreak in 2008 killed 4,000 people.
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Zimbabwe vs India: Zimbabwe vs India 2024 Live Cricket Score, Live Score Of Today's Match on NDTV Sports Zimbabwe vs India Live Score Ball by Ball, Zimbabwe vs India 2024 Live Cricket Score Of Today's Match on NDTV Sports Nurse Raped, Killed On Way Home, Body Found 9 Days Later In UP "Took Advantage Of His Addiction": 5 Charged Over Matthew Perry's Death "Don't Expect Anything From Me": Kolkata Hospital's New Principal Loses Cool Ukraine, Russia Both Claim Advances In Kursk Region Gaza Ceasefire Talks Underway In Qatar As Deaths Top 40,000 Trump To Hold Press Conference, His Campaign Adds Senior Advisers Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.