First suspected case of Ebola in Romania

A man that came back from Nigeria on July 25 was admitted today in a Romanian hospital, with diarrhea and hemorrhagic stools (not sure if this is the correct term, sorry). No fever though, so he's also a suspect for malaria, they say. A couple of hours later (1 hour ago, more precisely) he was transferred (via specially equipped ambulance, or so they say) to the Matei Bals Hospital for Infectious Diseases in Bucharest.

Showing flu-like symptoms at first sight, the medical staff that treated him at first did not take special precautions, like they should have for Ebola. Oh, he was also transferred from one hospital to another in his home city of Ploiesti, before being taken to Bucharest.


There are no direct flight connection from Nigeria to Romania, meaning the dude took a plane to somewhere in Europe, then came home in Romania.

We won't know if it's Ebola for 3 days. The only place in Europe where they can test for Ebola is supposedly Frankfurt.

Given I live here and I know how unprepared and corrupt the medical system really is, and also how hygiene is not a top priority in my country, I am extremely worried.

I will keep you updated. Take care everyone!

a reply to: negue

Wow.

The blood sucking disease comes to Romania.

Say it aint so.

And you are right about Malaria. Early Ebola symptom onset is similar to that and a plethora of other bugs.

Fingers crossed in the land of the Count.

a reply to: intrptr

Now that you mention it, I'm thinking the Count should be extremely careful these days. Who knows what else he might be sucking, besides the blood

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TV stations here are pedaling on the "we're almost sure it's not Ebola, it could be malaria or something else" track. Also from a TV report: the man's family is now quarantined.

It seems the suspect worked for several months in the oil industry in Nigeria. Ploiesti, his hometown, has a world renowned university, the Petroleum-Gas University of Ploiesti and there are lots of graduates that work in oil industry around the world.

Side note: I'd test all his work mates. Who knows where they are now...

a reply to: negue

The incubation period frightens me with the disease as its so long and one can meet a lot of people and go a lot of places during that time.

I still don't think we are getting all the information about Ebola yet.

a reply to: negue

If this turns out to be Ebola, where has he been for 16 days?? You also say he has been transferring around different Hospitals?? Since when? has he been in a Hospital since arriving back? Also, no direct flights to Nigeria from Romania Airports?? This doesn't sound like a good one to me at all. Lets hope its just 'Malaria'.

a reply to: negue


This is so bad IMO! When the American who died in Nigeria of EBOLA (Whom by the way...was on his way home to his US residence), passed 5 days after he took his last flight from Liberia to Nigeria...that was the beginning of the end, IMVHO.

It must have taken weeks and/or days to trace all the people he came into contact with on his flight from Liberia to Nigeria. What a tragedy indeed. They all must certainly have flown all over the world.

This ordeal is certainly not under any control...simply put...It's just not! We all need to go out and buy our "Freak Out" kits ASAP

If it hits Romania, it will e a bad ordeal.

A correction first: it seems he is not into oil industry, but into "clean energy". The suspected Ebola case is an engineer that worked in wind energy. He had a job in an office in the Nigerian capital of Abuja, and according to anonymous medical sources, he said he did not leave Abuja for the entire time he was there.

He started feeling ill 3 days ago (!), but only arrived at an ER this morning. Since his July 25 return to Romania, he was in a sea-side vacation together with his family. The stupid f**k did not mention at first his Nigeria trip to the medical staff that treated him. If I were him, "I came back from Nigeria 2 weeks ago" would have been my first words when dealing with doctors.

The transfer between hospitals, it all happened today. He first got admitted to a hospital for infectious diseases, but they sent him to an emergency hospital. I have no idea why. And then this emergency hospital in his town contacted the infectious disease hospital in the capital of Romania, Bucharest. He was sent there in an ambulance, with all protective measures taken, if we were to believe the officials. Unfortunately there are no available images or videos of those "protective measures". Makes you wonder.

Yep, I can confirm there are NO direct flights for the W Africa to Romania route. Meaning the dude probably travelled from Abuja to an European hub, and then took another plane (or bus maybe, not known at this point) to Romania.

It has been officially confirmed that his family (wife and 15yo kid) are quarantined in their home.

The unprepared health officials are all assuring us everything's under control. If I learned something is that when officials tell you "they got it", then it's definitely the time to freak out, as you say.

I repeat: Romania is not prepared for this. I am not a health worker, but I have been to hospitals and clinics and saw the conditions in some of those. Hospital-acquired infections are thriving. If it's truly Ebola, we're toast.

a reply to: negue

\where did he go for sea side vacation? Because I'm pretty sure that location by now is infected.

a reply to: starwarsisreal

Vama Veche, Romania: en.wikipedia.org...

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Update: the manager of the Matei Bals Infectious Diseases Hospital says "we're 99% sure it's not Ebola". He can't tell us what disease the man has, saying the family does not want this to get public. Also, the 21-days quarantine for the family was "a measure of precaution". Oh, and they won't be sending samples to Frankfurt, where's the only lab in Europe that can do Ebola tests. It's getting downplayed already, or so it seems to me.

A man who recently came from Sierra Leone, where the virus has already claimed 12 lives, sought medical help on Saturday due to high fever and nausea. He was admitted to the emergency room of a Hamburg hospital and isolated. He was later transferred to the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf accompanied by a convoy of six police cars. It remains unclear whether the patient had any contact with Ebola-infected people in Africa.

Link
This patient in Hamburg got all clear...
makes me wonder how long does it really take to get trustworthy results in those testings... one day and all clear in hamburg.. it seems

The people he was in contact with where ever he transferred should be ok. He was not contagious until he began showing symptoms. That's if he even has it. It will take a few days for test results to confirm it or not. y reply to: negue

People keep forgetting that individuals who are not symptomatic are not contagious. It doesn't matter if someone with Ebola travels the planet for 2 weeks - if he is not showing symptoms, he is not contagious. That's why this disease has never been one to spread quickly. As soon as you -do- start showing symptoms, they are severe, and typically, people go to a hospital or stay at home.. they are not traveling or coming into contact with anyone other than perhaps close family and friends.

So.. say someone does become symptomatic, and his wife and child and a neighbor all come into contact with him. Well, by the time they realize it's something very severe, those people are not symptomatic themselves, and can be quarantined for 21 days. The problem in Africa is hot weather, poor working conditions, poor burial practices, scared populace, and little control over it. They are scared of hospitals and flee into the populace, even when sick. If they die, people come into contact with their body. This would not occur in a more stable and controlled environment.

I do think we'll see cases in many countries, but I don't think they will spread like we are seeing in Africa.

Luckily people aren't contagious during the incubation period which can be as few as two days or as many as twenty two days. Victims are only contagious after symptoms present. a reply to: Shiloh7

Like I said already if it is Ebola he wasn't contagious until three days ago when he first felt sick. He apparently went right to the hospital so containment should be relatively easy. There is nearly four hundred miles between the city where Patrick Sawyer died Lagos and the city this man was in Abuja so he probably doesn't have it. I'd bet on malaria.

a reply to: negue

Not unless he was actively sick while there. I'm pretty sure just from the details of the story that it's not Ebola. He was in Nigeria but he was nearly four hundred miles from the city where patrick Sawyer and the nurse died. r reply to: starwarsisreal

originally posted by: Shiloh7
a reply to: negue

The incubation period frightens me with the disease as its so long and one can meet a lot of people and go a lot of places during that time.

I still don't think we are getting all the information about Ebola yet.

Flights should only depart to one airport, and anyone should be under quarantine for two to three days before they leave the country.

a reply to: dollukka

Yeah, the tests are all over the place, it makes no sense - some take days and the one in Charlotte was cleared within hours. I think the probably would delay report of a positive test anyways, just to get measures in place to deal with the panic.

My kid's buddy's parent just came back to the U.S. on an international flight..not sure I want him playing there for 21 days...sounds crazy but I don't care, I just feel the situation is not being managed properly nor are we being given all the facts.

He became symptomatic 3 days ago and only got in ER this morning.

Apparently he has a "pre-existing medical condition" that can't be disclosed, but he also got something that looks like a tropical disease. Whatever it is, we should keep calm because there are 99% chances it's not Ebola. I hope they're right. But given their expertise with Ebola and also knowing Romania does not have BSL-4 labs/facilities, I'm on my toes. Maybe he doesn't have Ebola, but the next guy with a "flu" might...

About tests and getting the results so late. I was only relaying info I got from media. The hospital manager said they could send samples to Frankfurt. I looked it up and it seems there is no BSL-4 lab in Frankfurt. But there is 1 in Hamburg. Maybe that's why the test for the hospital in Hamburg came back in hours.

You know how some here on ATS say "we're 1 flight away from a pandemic"? They could be right.

a reply to: kosmicjack

Yeah, the tests are all over the place, it makes no sense - some take days and the one in Charlotte was cleared within hours.

Ebola samples are cultured in Petri dishes. If one wants to be sure, really sure, a good length of time is a standard three days.

If one wants to hurry it can be done in less than a day, but the chances of missing a positive result increase the less time given to let the cultures develop sufficiently enough to identify them.

Ebola virus is extremely small compared to even a human cell and the two ways to identify it, by eyeball under electron microscope or colored dyes under special lights, may give rise to doubt.

The really, really, really only way to be sure is quarantine for 21 days (which they are doing any way), despite any test results. If someone was to be accidentally "cleared" by lab test and then contract Ebola later anyway…

Thats part of the problem with the resources in Africa. Culturing blood samples in a lab must be preformed exactingly, observing sterility without contaminating the culture, misidentifying it, etc.

Something that should be done in accredited labs.

The good doctor was initially cleared after displaying symptoms because he had clout and infected people are being brought home intentionally.

Dancing on the brink…

Charlotte? Charlotte South Carolina? reply to: kosmicjack