00:00General Practitioner Dr. Marianna Brown says while Ebola and Hantavirus continue to raise
00:07international concern, there is currently no immediate cause for panic in Trinidad and
00:13Tobago.
00:14She explains that Ebola is a highly infectious viral illness which can spread rapidly and
00:20cause severe symptoms including fever.
00:23It's a severe fatal hemorrhagic fever which means it causes internal and external fever.
00:29Symptoms, or bleeding rather, and patients often present with viral-like symptoms, they
00:34get fever, body pains and they get musculoskeletal pains and then it can eventually go into capillary
00:42leakage where patients would experience internal and external bleeding.
00:46Dr. Brown tells the Morning Edition, despite the seriousness of the virus, systems and monitoring
00:52mechanisms exist globally and regionally to help produce widespread transmission risks.
00:58Turning to Hantavirus, while the virus is not currently considered a major threat, here at
01:05home she gave a breakdown of the symptoms.
01:08Dr. It is fatal.
01:09It can lead to what we call Hanta Pulmonary Syndrome where your lungs can fill up with fluid and
01:15that basically causes respiratory distress and respiratory failure and the patient can go
01:20into shock and the patient can eventually succumb to basically not being able to breathe.
01:26She stresses that there is no need for hysteria.
01:30Nobody is giving this information for people to panic.
01:33Right.
01:33It is just for you to be aware of what is out there and really just to take precautions.
01:49Dr. Brown reminds citizens that with the rainy season underway, the country also faces familiar
01:59public health threats including dengue, chikungunya and other mosquito-borne illnesses and should
02:05take necessary precautions.
02:08Nicole M. Romany, TV6 News.
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