Ebola still poses low public health risk to Singapore

SINGAPORE- Ebola still poses a low public health risk to Singapore, and the Ministry of Health’s advisory on the disease remains essentially unchanged from last week.

Last Thursday, it advised the Singapore public not to be alarmed by reports of Ebola cases overseas.

“The Ministry of Health’s current assessment is that Ebola poses a low public health risk to Singapore since person-to-person transmission results from direct contact with bodily fluids of those infected,” said MOH.

“There is low travel connectivity to West Africa where the current outbreak remains limited to.”

The Ministry advised Singapore residents to consider postponing travel to affected areas if it is non-essential.

West Africa is experiencing its largest outbreak of the disease in places like Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, which has killed more than 700 people so far.

Patients with Ebola may show symptoms such as fever, sore throat and joint pain. This can be followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, red eyes, impaired kidney and liver functions, and in some cases bleeding. There is no licensed vaccine or treatment for Ebola.

Malaysia stepped up its Ebola alert on Monday. Its preventive measures include identifying passengers with symptoms, alerting its health ministry and referring cases to the nearest hospital. In the Philippines, people arriving from West African countries would be monitored for a month. Hong Kong also said that it would quarantine all travellers from Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia who showed Ebola-like symptoms.

Last week, Singapore’s health ministry said that hospitals will remain vigilant and test travellers for Ebola if they had symptoms and had recently travelled to places where the disease was detected.

All suspected and confirmed cases will be isolated and their close contacts will also be quarantined, if a case is detected.

Travellers are advised to wash their hands frequently, and avoid direct contact with blood and secretions or other body fluids of dead persons or animals.

Travellers returning from affected areas or those who suspect that they have been exposed to the Ebola virus should seek immediate medical attention and mention their recent travel to their doctors, if they develop symptoms while travelling in, or within three weeks of being in affected areas.

Travellers can check MOH’s latest advisory on Ebola at http://www.moh.gov.sg/content/moh_web/home/pressRoom/Current_Issues/2014…

Ebola still poses low public health risk to Singapore