ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s only Ebola suspect has been released from quarantine after a referral laboratory in the United States cleared him of the dreadful viral disease that has devastated West Africa.
Mohammad Haroon, 45, was detained at Karachi airport on December 1 after he arrived from the affected area without a Ebola Virus Disease (EVD)-free certificate. He was on a business trip to Liberia and had fever and other symptoms of Ebola virus on arrival.
Haroon, a salesman, was quarantined in Karachi’s Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, pending medical tests.
A statement issued jointly by the federal health ministry and the World Health Organisation (WHO) yesterday said that a sample of his blood sent to the Reference Laboratory for Ebola in the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, USA, tested ‘negative’.
“Consequently, Pakistan is currently Ebola free meaning that there is neither a case nor suspected case of EVD anywhere on Pakistani territory,” said the statement. It also commended the Karachi airport authorities and the management of the city’s Jinnah Hospital for diligently following the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and taking all measures in time.
Pakistani aviation authorities took the opportunity to remind international airlines to follow the SOP while bringing in passengers with travel history of West Africa.internews
