Thursday - September 18, 2014

No Worries, It’s Only Malaria

Wow, what a world we live in. A ship from Africa arrives here full of sick sailors, the docs get to work, and the fear alleviating word goes out:

U.S. health officials were alerted to the situation Wednesday morning and a statement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said they would have U.S. Coast Guard, Louisiana Department of Health, and EMS crews on-hand to meet vessel near New Orleans and transport the ill crewmember to a local hospital for evaluation and care.

The CDC said that the vessel’s itinerary did include a recent call in Matadi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but the chances of the crewmember having Ebola was thought to be exceedingly low. The CDC added that it will also be evaluating two other crewmembers reported to be showing minor symptoms of illness.

“The vessel’s itinerary did include Matadi, DRC, in addition to other ports, but there is no evidence to suggest that the crew members traveled to, or had any contact with anyone from the remote inland region of DRC where Ebola cases are occurring,” according to the CDC.

The vessel is believed to be the Liberian-flagged MV Marine Phoenix. AIS data from MarineTraffic showed that the most recent port of call was in Panama.

CDC: No trace of ebola on NOLA bound ship

In a statement released late Wednesday night, the Centers for Disease Control stressed that crew members on a freighter inbound to New Orleans were suffering from malaria and show no traces of Ebola.

First responders who took those individuals to the hospital wore protective garb as a precaution, though health officials noted early on that it was extremely unlikely that Ebola was to blame for the sickness on the Marine Phoenix.

The ship remained at anchor in the Mississippi River near Belle Chasse. It was expected to continue its voyage to New Orleans early on Thursday.

statement from CDC: CDC, along with local and federal officials, responded today to a report of illness on a ship at the Port of New Orleans. Earlier today, local EMS transferred three of the ship’s crew members to a local hospital.

The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) confirmed a positive test result this evening for malaria in the patient being treated at a New Orleans-area hospital. DHH shared this information with CDC and local officials. The other two patients had mild symptoms and are being assessed. Another ill crew member disembarked in the Bahamas two days ago, where he was diagnosed with malaria and later died.

Malaria is spread by mosquitoes and does not spread from person to person. Approximately 1,500-2,000 cases are reported every year in the United States, almost all in recent travelers.

The ship’s itinerary included Matadi, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in addition to other ports. Based on a hospital’s request, CDC conducted testing on the crew member who died, and the results showed that this crew member was negative for the type of Ebola that is causing the current outbreak in West Africa. Ebola is not suspected as a cause of the other crew members’ illnesses. No crew members had known exposures to Ebola.

Get used to seeing news reports like this. It’s going to get much worse before it gets better.

Posted by Drew458     on 09/18/2014 at 10:07 AM   
Filed Under: • Health-Medicine •  
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