A patient who recently traveled to the US from Africa has been quarantined in hospital with a flu-like illness — amid fears a new pathogen could be spreading worldwide.
The individual is being treated at University Hospitals St. John Medical Center outside Cleveland, Ohio.
They had recently arrived at Hopkins International Airport from Tanzania, which borders the Democratic Republic of Congo — where a mystery disease outbreak has killed dozens.
It is not clear what they are infected with, but the hospital is likely conducting a range of tests to determine the cause of the illness.
The case comes as fears grow about an outbreak in the Congo that has infected at least 376 people and killed up to 143.
Patients are reported to be suffering from a flu-like illness, with symptoms including a fever, headache, nasal discharge, cough, difficulty breathing and anemia, or lack of healthy red blood cells.
The country’s Health Minister Roger Kamba told reporters yesterday that his nation was on ‘maximum alert’ over the outbreak, and added that the disease appeared to be ‘respiratory’.
The outbreak was first recorded on October 24, in Kwango, a rural province in the southwest of the country.
The above shows UH St. John Medical Cente outside Cleveland, Ohio, where the patient – who recently arrived from Tanzania – was being treated
Revealing the case last night, a spokesperson for UH told local reporters: ‘Early this morning a patient, who had recently arrived at Hopkins International Airport in Cleveland from Tanzania, was transferred via North Olmsted EMS to UH St. John Medical Center’s Emergency Department with flu-like symptoms.
‘UH staff [have] taken proper safety precautions while their condition is being evaluated.’
They added: ‘The patient is currently under isolation and their condition has been reported to the Ohio Department of Health.
‘Patients and staff are utilizing proper masking and isolation protocols, and taking appropriate reporting steps to protect our patients, staff and the hospital.’
No further details on the individual were released, including when they arrived in the US, their symptoms or whether they had recently visited the DRC.
DailyMail.com has contacted the Ohio Department of Health and the CDC for comment.
About 27,000 people travel through Hopkins International Airport every day, which has more than 120 daily departures.
There are no direct flights from Tanzania to the US, meaning travelers have to catch connecting flights in cities like Paris, France and Doha, Qatar.
Passengers traveling between Tanzania and Ohio would likely have to do at least two transfers before arriving at their destination.
The above shows Congolese officials and World Health Organization officials during a training exercise for the Ebola virus carried out in August 2018 in North Kivu province, DRC
Tanzania and the DRC share a 300-mile border over Lake Tanganyika.
The closest point in Tanzania is about 800 miles from Kwango province in the DRC, where the mystery outbreak is being reported.
It came after Hong Kong became the first territory yesterday to bring in health checks for arrivals from the DRC and Africa yesterday, in an echo of measures taken to limit the spread of Covid.
In an update yesterday, the CDC said it was ‘standing ready’ amid a mystery outbreak in the DRC.
A source told DailyMail.com that they were ‘aware’ of the outbreak and were in contact with health officials there and ‘stand ready to provide additional support if needed’.
The World Health Organization has deployed a team to the southwestern province where the outbreak is being reported to take samples and test for the disease.
It took the team at least two days to arrive in the province, according to local officials, and samples are having to be sent more than 300miles in order to be tested.
