Health authorities in Brazil are investigating two suspected cases of ebola in the cities of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, amid international concern over the outbreak affecting Central Africa.
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The first case corresponds to a 37-year-old man from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a country that declared a new epidemic of the disease on May 15.
According to the Sao Paulo government, the patient showed symptoms such as fever, which meets the definition of a suspected ebola case. As a precaution, he was admitted in isolation at the Emílio Ribas Institute of Infectology, a specialized center in the São Paulo capital.
The authorities indicated that laboratory tests have not yet confirmed the disease and that the procedure was activated according to health surveillance protocols.
“The procedure includes isolation, immediate notification, laboratory investigation, and monitoring,” explained Regiane de Paula, from the Disease Control Coordination of Sao Paulo.
The Sao Paulo Health Secretariat stated that the risk of the disease being introduced in Brazil remains “very low,” due to the absence of local transmission and the lack of direct flights between the country and the region affected by the outbreak.
Meanwhile, the Health Secretariat of the state of Rio de Janeiro reported that it activated security measures following the case of a man from Uganda, a country where infections linked to the current outbreak have also been detected.
The patient showed viral symptoms such as cough, chills, and diarrhea, prompting the corresponding health investigation.
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According to the Rio de Janeiro city hall, the man tested positive for malaria, although the case remains under investigation to rule out or confirm other diseases, including ebola.
So far, Brazilian authorities have not reported confirmed cases of ebola in the country.
The investigation of the suspected cases occurs while the DRC faces a new ebola outbreak, which has already resulted in more than 1,000 suspected cases and 246 deaths, according to reports released by African health organizations.
The virus was also detected in neighboring Uganda, raising international alert over the risk of regional spread.
The current outbreak corresponds to the Bundibugyo strain, a less common variant of ebola, whose fatality rate can range between 30% and 50%. There is no authorized vaccine or approved specific treatment for this strain.
Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids of infected people or animals and can cause severe hemorrhagic fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and internal bleeding.
For now, Brazil maintains its activated protocols of surveillance, isolation, and monitoring while awaiting laboratory results of the patients under suspicion.
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