Ebola alert in Italy: Two suspected cases in Lombardy after return from Uganda

A health alert has been issued in Italy's northern Lombardy region after two suspected cases of Ebola were detected in the province of Como.

The cases concern a woman from Lurate Caccivio and a man from Bulgarograsso who returned from Uganda in the past 24 hours with other members of their families after spending around three months there as humanitarian aid workers.

Both have developed symptoms consistent with the Ebola virus, including high fever, nausea, vomiting and intestinal problems.

They were quickly transferred to Milan's Sacco Hospital, a specialist facility for the management of high-risk infectious diseases, where tests required under national and international protocols are under way.

'No certainty yet that it is Ebola'

Lombardy's regional welfare minister, Guido Bertolaso, confirmed that emergency procedures had been activated, while stressing that there is currently no official confirmation of the presence of the virus.

"There is still no certainty that this is Ebola," Bertolaso said at a press conference, explaining that the results of diagnostic tests are expected later on Monday and that "we are hopeful they will be negative."

According to the regional minister, the two patients come from an area of Uganda close to the borders with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, regions currently being monitored because of a rise in Ebola cases.

However, doctors consider a form of malaria to be the more likely diagnosis, possibly cerebral malaria in the case of the 30-year-old woman, who may need to be admitted to intensive care.

The woman is reported to have developed more severe symptoms, including a very high fever and mild neurological issues. Her daughter is also thought to have contracted malaria while they were in Uganda.

The clinical picture is milder for the 31-year-old resident of Bulgarograsso, who has a temperature of around 38C and gastrointestinal problems, but health authorities nonetheless immediately activated surveillance protocols for suspected Ebola cases because of where the patients had travelled from.

In the meantime, the other five members of the two families involved are being monitored and kept under health surveillance by the competent authorities.

Ebola risk low in Italy

In an official statement, the Health Ministry stressed that the risk of Ebola in Italy "remains very low." The ministry also confirmed that the national system for preparedness and response to infectious emergencies is fully operational.

The ministry is constantly monitoring the situation in close coordination with the Lombardy regional authorities, the Higher Institute of Health, Sacco Hospital in Milan, Rome's Spallanzani Hospital and the other health facilities involved in managing epidemic emergencies.

Sunday saw a meeting of the European Commission's Health Security Committee devoted specifically to the Ebola emergency, with the participation of the relevant Italian ministries and the main national health authorities.

Bertolaso also criticised the premature circulation of images and statements about the case, stressing that the procedures triggered were simply precautionary measures laid down in international health protocols.

According to the regional minister, some of the public communications may have fuelled alarm among the population even before any official clinical confirmation.

The mayor of Lurate Caccivio, Serena Arrighi, had also informed residents in a statement issued in the morning that necessary health protocols had been activated.