Croatia Monitors Africa Returnees for Ebola

Croatia is monitoring 18 citizens who have returned from Africa for the deadly Ebola virus as a precautionary measure.

Of the 18, 17 are sailors who have been working on oil platforms in Nigeria, while one is a peace corps soldier who was stationed in Liberia - the country worst hit by the epidemic.

None have shown any symptoms of the disease. They have been placed under surveillance by the Institute for Public Health, HZJZ, following their arrival in Zagreb as an obligatory cautionary measure for everyone coming from Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.

HZJZ epidemiologist Goranka Petrovic said the 18 would be monitored for 21 days, which is how long it takes the Ebola virus to incubate. “If these persons don’t get sick in 21 days, then the risk for them is over,” Petrovic said.

The chances of them being infected are believed to be slim, as they worked in isolated surroundings.

The Ebola outbreak started in Guinea and has since spread to other West African countries, sparking a panic about a worldwide epidemic.

The disease is untreatable and is transmitted by bodily fluids, with initial symptoms of fever, muscle ache, weakness and headaches, which can lead to complete failure of the internal organs and death.

About 90 per cent of those suffering from the virus are reported to have died. The World Health Organisation, WHO, on Friday said that 1,145 people had died of the disease so far in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.