ARCHIVE – Date and location unknown: An electron microscope image shows a single viral particle of the Ebola virus. Photo: Frederick Murphy/CDC/AP/dpa
Keystone
A suspected case of Ebola infection has triggered a large-scale operation by the emergency services and fire department in the Czech Republic.
The patient was taken to a special isolation ward at Bulovka Hospital in Prague under strict safety precautions, as reported by CNN Prima News. The US-American had recently returned from a trip to the Congo.
The man, who is around 40 years old, was initially admitted to the hospital in the South Bohemian town of Tabor, around 80 kilometers south of Prague. Extensive disinfection measures were carried out there on Friday evening. The results of the tests would be available on Saturday morning at the earliest, a spokeswoman for the Bulovka University Hospital told the TV station. The samples would have to be sent to a laboratory in Germany.
Ebola has a high mortality rate
Diseases caused by the Ebola virus and the related Marburg virus are classified as haemorrhagic fevers, which are characterized by fever and bleeding. Infection occurs from person to person through direct contact with sick people and their blood, body fluids and excretions. The mortality rate is between 30 and 90 percent, depending on the type of virus.