In a follow-up to a story in late August, the university student from Guinea has recovered from the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), according to a Reuters report today.
“We did a first blood test on Friday and a second 48 hours later and both of them came back negative,” Papa Amadou Diack, Senegal’s director of health, told Reuters. “This is very good news for the patient and for the country.”
Dozens of potential contacts of the Guinean student have been monitored for the disease, with some 33 people placed under quarantine.
The 21-year-old male native of Guinea, arrived in Dakar last Aug. 20 and stayed just outside the city with relatives.
After initially being diagnosed and treated for malaria, he presented for treatment at a specialized facility for infectious diseases in Dakar on 26 August, was not bleeding at the time, and did not disclose exposure to Ebola. However, following tests performed by the Pasteur Institute of Dakar, was placed in isolation in the infectious disease ward of Fann Hospital, Dakar. Fann Hospital has a dedicated infectious disease ward for isolation of potential cases.
According to the World Health Organization, there are also two suspected EVD cases in Senegal.
All total for Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone is 4269 (probable, confirmed and suspected) cases and 2288 deaths (53% case-fatality rate) as reported by the several health ministries.
In Nigeria and Senegal, there has been 21 cases and 8 deaths and 3 cases (1 confirmed and 2 suspected), respectively.
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