SA's first Ebola case a training exercise

South Africa's first Ebola case has turned out to be a field simulation by the International Health Regulations (IHR) in Lesotho to test that country's preparedness.

15 Nov 2019

Image: MedPage Today

On Thursday, a Eyewitness News report claimed a woman who displayed symptoms associated with the Ebola virus disease crossed the Ficksburg border in the Free State.

#EbolaInLesotho
Lesotho health officials say a Johannesburg Virology Lab confirmed that a Mosotho woman who showed signs of Ebola on arrival at Ficksburg border has tested positive @nthakoana
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) November 14, 2019

This sparked a social media panic to which the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) responded in a tweet, saying

This was the first small scale field simulation exercise to test preparedness. The @nicd_sa BSL4 Lab has not been requested to test suspected Ebola cases for any neighbouring countries. As such, we have not had a positive Ebola case. #EbolaInLesotho https://t.co/pSfVv8uko8
— NICD (@nicd_sa) November 14, 2019

This was confirmed by IHR in Lesotho said there had been an Ebola exercise simulation on 13 November between the borders gates of Ficksburg and Maputsoe.

The simulation was undertaken to test the country’s capacities in terms of risk communication, coordination, communication, surveillance, case management, preparedness and response.