By More Matshediso
Pretoria - The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) on Thursday said it will conduct a test for Ebola on the KwaZulu-Natal man, who returned from work in Sierra Leone and complained of mild fever symptoms on Wednesday.
According to the NICD, the man-- who works as a fleet manager for a construction company in Sierra Leone -- was concerned about the risk of Ebola and wanted to be tested as a precautionary measure.
He was then referred to Addington Hospital for further assessment but he decided not to go to the hospital.
The NICD said it will now conduct the test to allay the patient and health workers’ fears, and create confidence in the health system.
“All testing for the Ebola virus is conducted at the NICD’s Special Pathogens BSL4 laboratory in Johannesburg. The Ebola test results for this patient will be available within the next 48 hours,” NICD said.
The NICD said at present, there are no confirmed cases of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in South Africa associated with the current outbreak in West Africa.
“The KwaZulu-Natal provincial Department of Health again arranged for his admission today to allow further assessment and to check specifically for other infections including malaria, given the absence of risk factors and no direct exposure to persons with Ebola disease,” the NICD said. - SAnews.gov.za
