Roodepoort-born Dallas El-hage has been evacuated from the West African country Guinea recently in view of the crisis arising from the Ebola outbreak that originated in that country earlier this year.
The Ebola virus or Ebola haemorrhagic fever (EHF) is a disease that can be found in humans and other primates. Symptoms such as fever, sore throat, muscle pains and headaches start showing within two days and three weeks after contracting the virus.
Typically, vomiting, diarrhoea and rash follow, along with decreased liver and kidney function. Around this time, affected people may begin to bleed internally and externally.
El-hage has been working at an AngloGold Ashanti gold mine in Guinea for the past year in industrial radiography and testing a waste pipeline being built.
With the closest outbreak of the disease 25km away from the mine compound the decision was made to fly the South Africans home – especially when borders were closed and a number of airlines cancelled flights to and from the area.
Other precautions were taken some months ago, which included restricting contact with people from outside the mine compound. El-hage was permitted to play football on Saturday mornings only with the local villagers who worked at the mine.
On arrival at OR Tambo international airport, El-hage was put through medical tests to verify whether he had any possible signs of the disease. Three days later the family received phone calls from the Department of Health cross-examining them about El-hage’s general state of health. They wanted to know whether he had any aches, pains, fever, a high temperature or was feeling unwell in general. The family was able to assure them that he was in excellent shape.
The family is very pleased that something is being done to safeguard South Africans who work in the affected areas and that the Department of Health is monitoring those arriving from that area.
“Even though our medical team obviously had done tests before we returned to South Africa, I am very happy about the precautions our country’s health authorities take to protect its citizens,” says El-hage.
It is standard procedure for the Department of Health to check on people who could have been exposed to the virus each day for the 21 days of the incubation period to ensure that they have not developed any symptoms.
