Malaria, not Ebola

The male patient from Ploiesti admitted to the ‘Matei Bals’ National Institute in Bucharest on Sunday was diagnosed with malaria, the institute’s manager Adrian Streinu Cercel told a press conference on Monday. Streinu Cercel said the patient was transferred to the Victor Babes Hospital, the tropical disease unit. The patient’s condition is stable, Cercel also said. There is a 99 percent chance the patient admitted to the Matei Bals Institute tests negative for Ebola, Streinu Cercel told a press conference referring to the patient suspected of having contracted a viral infection. ‘We have examined step by step all the epidemiological and clinical data of the patient and we found elements having very little to do with a possible Ebola infection. There is practically more than 90 percent, 99 percent chance he turns negative for the Ebola virus, but there are still other possible infections, including those originated from Nigeria. We are monitoring the circulation of these hemorrhagic viruses – it’s not just Ebola – and this is the year with the highest number of cases reported in this area,’ Adrian Streinu Cercel said.

The Romanian embassies in West Africa have received no requests for assistance for the repatriation of Romanian citizens and were neither informed about possible cases of Romanian citizens infected with the Ebola virus in the West African states, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) announced late last week.