Nozic: No ebola in Serbia, VMA prepared for its appearance

BELGRADE - There are no ebola patients in Serbia, but if the disease appears, the Military Medical Academy (VMA) in Belgrade is prepared to face it, head of the VMA infective diseases ward Colonel Darko Nozic said on Friday.

There are individuals under medical supervision in Serbia, he told reporters at the VMA, adding that the measure was applied to all people who came to the country from the afflicted areas.

"Monitoring means that people arriving from Africa are registered and restricted to their homes, and they are to report should they experience any health issues. No one is suspected yet of having contracted the disease and I hope it will remain so, but if it does appear, we are ready," Nozic underscored.

The protective equipment and beds for any potential ebola patients have been prepared, as well as the routes that will be taken to transport them to the VMA, he remarked.

"The preparation involves also securing the appropriate medication and infusions. It is a complex process the VMA goes through as part of the preparations in case the disease appears," he said.

This process also includes psychological work with medical staff, he explained.

"It includes also psychological preparation of medical staff, seeing as a large number of health professionals in West Africa contracted ebola. We called for volunteers and almost 100 percent of our people came forth," he stressed.

Photo Tanjug, camera operator Aleksandar Simic