PRAGUE, October 10 (RIA Novosti) - The Czech Republic is fully prepared to deal with the Ebola threat on the territory of the country, Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said Friday.
"The last two cases of patients with suspected Ebola have demonstrated the comprehensive readiness of our doctors to work with the carriers of the Ebola virus. Relevant premises are ready, we have the right equipment, fully trained staff, where and how to get quick test results. It is worth noting that neither case resulted in any panic," Sobotka stated at a press conference in Brno.
On Thursday a suspected Ebola patient, returning from Liberia, was hospitalized in Prague. However, urgent tests carried out at the Koch Institute in Berlin confirmed that the the patient did not, in fact, have the Ebola virus.
The Czech Government and relevant medical organizations will take a number of further preventive measures in the near future to prevent the possible contamination of patients infected with the Ebola virus in the Czech Republic. In particular, the number of flights to countries with a large number of Ebola virus carriers being reduced to a minimum.
The Ebola virus is transmitted through direct contact with the bodily fluids of those infected. Though there is no officially approved medication for the disease, several countries, including Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Japan are working on developing Ebola vaccines. More than 3,800 people overall have lost their lives to Ebola, according to WHO, with West African countries of Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Senegal being the main places affected.
