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A recent suspected case of a patient deceased with Ebola-like symptoms has alarmed Macedonian authorities and has been a test for the readiness of the national health institutions to face the contagious virus that scares the world.
The 58-year-old British businessman, Colin Jaffray, died in hospital of Skopje on Oct. 9 shortly after he was admitted and with symptoms much similar to the ones caused by Ebola virus.
The tests conducted in international laboratory in Hamburg, Germany eventually confirmed that the patient did not affect with Ebola. But the health authorities say that cases like this prove the real potential danger of this virus spreading to Macedonia or even larger scale in Europe.
"It is a huge risk. There is a potential danger, so we are preparing to be ready. According to the Protocol we have adopted at the Commission for Prevention of Contagious Diseases, we have clearly defined the tasks of all institutions engaged in Ebola prevention and reaction," Doctor Jovanka Kostovska from the Commission for Prevention of Contagious Diseases told Xinhua on Tuesday.
Macedonian authorities have taken series of measures to prevent the possible spreading of the virus.
At the International Airport "Alexander the Great" in Skopje all passengers are checked with thermal camera in order to estimate their body temperature. Special health checks undergo passengers that arrive from high-risk countries hit by Ebola virus. At border check-points, there are flyers that explain to all citizens the danger of Ebola when traveling abroad.
Director of the Institute of Public Health Shaban Memeti said that Macedonian reaction to the first suspected case of the British citizen that died with symptoms of Ebola-like has proven that the Macedonian health authorities are ready to face the risk of the deadly disease.
"There is a great danger all over the world from spreading the virus. This suspicious case has been a real test and the country showed that it has capacity to face potential cases. All health institutions in Macedonia coordinate on daily basis and we follow the situation closely," Memeti told Xinhua on Tuesday.
Macedonian Minister of Health Nikola Todorov called on all citizens to be extremely cautious when travelling abroad and to follow health recommendations.
"In this type of health crisis, citizens have to fully obey the advices of the health authorities. Otherwise, they put in danger themselves and many other people. Taking decisions on your own hands in these cases can be extremely dangerous," Todorov warned on Saturday through Macedonian National Television.
The citizens are scared and after the suspected Ebola death of the British citizen in their country they really begin to feel the risk of the deadly virus spreading. The hotel "Super 8" where the deceased British citizen stayed now is almost empty.
The employees don't want to comment officially on the incident, but they confirmed that they are seeing major drop in the number of rooms rented after their hotel became the center of the Ebola scare in Macedonia. People are just scared to rent rooms in a place that was quarantined for three days, they said shortly.
A total of 25 tourists and hotel staffs were isolated in this hotel while Macedonian authorities expected the official results from the Hamburg laboratory confirming if the British businessman had Ebola or not. Taxi drivers in front of the hotel said that the image was not pleasant at all.
"It is really scary to see all these people with protective suits going in and out of the hotel. I don't believe that there is an immediate threat of Ebola for Macedonia but I still felt unease. There was police all around the hotel, the guests were only allowed to look out through the windows," Irfan Ademi, a taxi-driver that usually waits for passengers in this area told Xinhua on Tuesday.
Macedonian authorities explained that all these measures were necessary to prevent any risk of spreading potential dangerous disease and they complied with the World Health Organization's rules.
Furthermore, the security measures are even intensified these days because of a large number of Macedonian Muslim citizens coming back from their holy pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
Macedonia will also purchase additional protective suits and special carriers for transport of potential Ebola patients.
Over 4,000 people have died from Ebola in the world, most of them in the countries of Western Africa, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. But isolated cases are registered in other parts of the world as well and the health authorities can't exclude the potential global threat, especially because there is still no registered treatment for this virus. Enditem
