Low risk of Ebola outbreak - epidemiologist

Low risk of Ebola outbreak - epidemiologist

BELGRADE -- Epidemiologist Bojana Grgić said on Friday that the risk of appearance of the Ebola virus in Serbia was low.

"We cannot say that there is no risk at all. It is low, bearing in mind that the manner in which the disease spreads, but of course we cannot completely exclude this possibility, and must be prepared," Grgić, who works at the Dr. Milan Jovanović-Batut Institute of Public Health, told the Beta news agency.

According to her, the measures taken at this time in Serbia are the same as in other countries.

The Ebola epidemic was declared in three countries in West Africa - Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Grgić noted that the World Health Organization announced which measures should be taken by countries where an epidemic has been confirmed, in others that have confirmed cases, and those along their borders.

"For all others, there should be no ban on international trade or travel," said Grgić.

She added that countries affected by the virus outbreak have weak health care systems and are unable to cope, resulting in the highest number of cases among health care workers who do not have adequate protection.

According to the Law on Protection of the Population from Infectious Diseases in Serbia, all persons coming from countries with outbreaks of hemorrhagic fever viruses - of which Ebola is one - are placed under medical supervision.

The symptoms include fever, weakness, muscle aches, headache, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, impaired liver and kidney function, and occasionally intense hemorrhaging. The incubation period for the virus is two to 21 days.

The disease is transmitted from animals...