EMC - Hemorrhagic Fever Outbreak

This example includes information on the following:

Case finding
Case management
Contacts/Family
Burials and other social gatherings
Personal hygiene
Health education

Case finding

Any case or death with fever, bleeding from the nose or mouth, bloody diarrhoea, red urine or blood spot on the skin.

Case management

Any such person should be isolated and urgently referred to the health centre for diagnosis and treatment.

Contact/Family

All contacts and household members should be referred to health authorities and observed for development of fever and other signs and symptoms of the disease.

Personal hygiene

Hands should be washed after handling sick persons, their belongings (clothes, beddings) or their dejections.

Burials and other social gatherings

Burial of persons deceased from haemorrhagic fever should be handled only by specially trained staff. It should occur without delay after disinfection of the body, beddings and all personal belonging of the deceased. Burial ritual and ceremonies should be kept minimal.

Health education

All community members should be informed about the disease. The community should be informed that haemorrhagic fever (Ebola, Marburg, Dengue, Rift Valley) is highly communicable, caused by a microorganism and spread from one person to another through blood and dejections of sick persons. Washing hands with soap and water helps get rid of germs on hands. There is no vaccine. There is no effective, specific treatment. Currently prevention is the only effective control method. Prevention is achieved through strict isolation of sick persons in appropriate health care settings. All persons approaching the patients must wear protective masks, goggles, clothes, gloves and shoes. All personal belongings of the patient, including dejections must be disinfected and disposed off properly by trained health staff. One should also avoid manipulating or eating dead animals.