THEhealth alarm that in the last few hours had kept the province of Como and the Lombard healthcare system in suspense he is officially back. The virological tests carried out urgently at the reference laboratories of the Luigi Sacco hospital in Milan gave negative results: the two Italian aid workers they have not contracted the Ebola virus. The confirmation came directly from the Lombardy Region, definitively extinguishing the concerns of public opinion.
The Ebola alarm in the Como area goes off in a few hours
The two young people had returned to Italy after a three-month humanitarian mission in Uganda, one of the areas currently under international observation for the spread of the virus. Upon their arrival home, the appearance of important symptoms such as high fever, vomiting and diarrhea had immediately triggered the maximum security protocols established by the health authorities for the containment of epidemiological emergencies. The area around their homes had been temporarily secured to protect public health, but medical investigations immediately reduced the clinical picture.
The real cause of the discomfort is Shigella
Having ruled out the Ebola virus, the doctors at the Sacco hospital subjected the two patients to a series of in-depth analyzes to identify the origin of the fever and gastrointestinal disorders. The tests also gave negative results for malaria And for the main respiratory viruses currently monitored by the surveillance network. The definitive answer came from bacteriological tests: both aid workers tested positive for Shigella. It is a rather common bacterium in developing countries or with reduced sanitation standards. The conditions of the two boys remain under the scrutiny of infectious disease specialistsbut the situation is absolutely under control: Shigella infection responds quickly and successfully to normal antibiotic therapies.
No haemorrhagic fever for the two aid workers undergoing immediate checks in Lombardy. (Getty Images)
Because doctors have activated maximum alert protocols
Even if the matter was resolved in the best possible way, the decision to isolate the patients and activate emergency procedures was not an excess of zeal. The attention of the Milanese doctors is linked to what is happening in Central Africawhere the World Health Organization recently declared an international state of emergency.
The scary variant
In some provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo and in the border areas with Uganda it is in fact underway an Ebola outbreak fueled by the variant called Bundibugyo. This is a rare and complex strain because, unlike the best-known variant, the Zaire strain, does not respond to traditional vaccines and therapies approved in recent years. For this reason, surveillance on those returning from those specific geographical areas with feverish symptoms is maximum throughout Europe.
Dangers for the Italian population? Experts reassure
The experts of the ISS, the superior health institute, they reiterated that there is no risk of contagion for Italian citizens. The Ebola virus, in fact, has very specific modes of transmission: it does not spread through the air like the flu or the coronavirus, but requires direct contact with the body fluids of a person who has already clearly developed symptoms. Furthermore, during the incubation period, which can last up to twenty-one days, the subject is not contagious. The surveillance system in international airports, then, such as Milan Malpensa and Rome Fiumicino, guarantees the tracking of travellersallowing timely interventions like the one that occurred in Lombardy, and nipping any doubts in the bud without room for panic.
