It is ruled out that the woman admitted to the Donostia Hospital suffers from Ebola

Microbiological analyzes rule out that the woman admitted this Thursday at the Donostia de San Sebastián Hospital has Ebola.

The tests carried out by the National Center for Microbiology, dependent on the Carlos III Health Institute, rule out the possibility that the patient had contracted Ebola.

Tests have also been performed that rule out dengue fever, Lassa fever, Crimean Congo, yellow fever, and other diarrheal fevers..

Finally the patient has tested positive for malaria, so now treatment for this parasitic disease will begin.

The Basque Department of Health, Osakidetza, yesterday activated the protocol established to care for those infected by Ebola after the admission this Thursday of a woman to the Donostia Hospital with symptoms compatible with this disease. The patient had recently returned from a trip to the Central African Republic.

As provided in the protocols, the special “high security and isolation” resources were activated due to “the suspicion of a case of hemorrhagic fever” and samples were sent for analysis at the National Center for Microbiology.

The deputy medical director of the OSI Donostialdea de Osakidetza, Xabier Zubeldia, already told the media yesterday that it was “very unlikely” that the patient suffered from an Ebola virus infection or another infectious disease. However, there was no absolute certainty until confirmation was obtained, this Friday, from the National Center for Microbiology.

The Donostia Hospital, in San Sebastián, is one of the seven Spanish hospitals that have a unit with special high-security and isolation resources for the treatment of this disease and, given the suspicion of a possible case of hemorrhagic disease, activated the protocol during the early hours of last Thursday. The patient arrived from the Urduliz hospital (Bizkaia), where she was treated in the first instance.

As explained by Antoni Trilla, a specialist in Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology and dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Barcelona, as a precaution, “action protocols are activated as soon as any suspicion of a hemorrhagic disease occurs.”. Based on the symptoms and the epidemiological history, a risk assessment is made, he clarifies. Ultimately, in coordination with the health services involved, it is the Coordination Center for Health Alerts and Emergencies, under the Ministry of Health, who makes the decision to launch the special resources.