Israel’s Health Ministry has raised alert levels and circulated a special preparedness protocol after an Ebola outbreak in Congo, amid concern that a suspected case could reach Israel. Under the new instructions, anyone suspected of having Ebola must not go directly to a hospital or clinic, but must isolate and contact the ministry. If evacuation is needed, Magen David Adom will handle it, in coordination with the National Health Command Center.
The ministry has designated five hospitals as highly prepared to receive suspected cases, Sheba, Ichilov, Rambam, Soroka and Hadassah Ein Kerem. These hospitals have isolation facilities and the capability to evaluate and treat such patients. The protocol says that anyone who was in Congo or Uganda in the past 21 days, or had contact with a confirmed or suspected Ebola patient, and develops a fever of 38 degrees Celsius or higher, will be classified as a suspected case and must isolate and report to the ministry.
Ebola is described as one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases. Early symptoms include fever, weakness, headache and muscle pain, and the disease can later progress to vomiting, diarrhea, organ damage and bleeding. The Health Ministry says mortality in previous outbreaks ranged from 25% to 50%.
If a suspected patient arrives at a hospital that is not a designated center, they must be isolated immediately and contact with them minimized. Medical teams must use full protective gear, and treatment should be limited to what is medically essential until transfer to an appropriate center. Infectious disease specialist Prof. Yael Paran of Ichilov said the current outbreak recalls the large 2014 outbreak, when patients were flown from Africa to other countries and secondary infections were recorded among medical staff in the United States and Spain. She added that while the risk for Israel is low, it is not zero, noting that until recently about 10 people a day arrived from Congo and Israeli citizens still enter the country from there.
