South Africa - Health Department on alert after 'unknown haemorrhagic fever' outbreak

[The Sentinel]

The South African Health Department issued an alert at the weekend after four deaths at a Johannesburg hospital.

A hospital spokeswoman said tests for existing strains of haemorrhagic fever were negative and that hospital officials are investigating an unknown 'flu-like disease' which causes external and internal bleeding.

The pathogen spreads through body fluids but there are no signs it is airborne.

Some 121 people are reported to be under observation.

From the report:

A list of 121 people who came into contact with the deceased has been compiled and those people have had their temperatures taken every six hours for the three-week period.

"If we are not sure of their symptoms, we will put them in isolation to evaluate," said treating doctor Nivesh Sewlall.

It appears that the disease may have been linked in some way with tick bites:

On September 12, a 36-year-old woman, Cecilia van Deventer, was airlifted from Zambia to the Morningside Medi Clinic in Sandton, Johannesburg. She was treated for tick bite fever and other potential infections, but died two days later.