Tests show Irish man did not die of Ebola virus
The Irish man who died after returning from Sierra Leone did not have Ebola, say authorities. But his family say they were not informed about a potential link, and learned about it from the media.
Dessie Quinn, 44, was being treated for malaria after returning from the west African country two weeks ago. The engineer was found dead in bed in Mountcharles, County Donegal, by a friend in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Blood tests were ordered after a post-mortem investigation into his sudden death amid fears that he may have been suffering from the incurable Ebola virus.
The Health Service Executive (HSE) confirmed that the results of the test were negative, and said in a statement: “Infection control procedures, which had been put in place as a precautionary measure, will now be stepped down.”
Quinn was employed by telecoms company KN Network Services, which said on Friday that it was returning all staff from Sierra Leone as a precaution.
No information
However it also emerged on Friday that the Quinn family had been kept in the dark and were not notified of health chiefs’ concerns before a statement on the precautionary investigation was released to national media in Ireland yesterday.
It was told to the public, it was not told to the family. Truthfully I was angry. Father Adrian Gaviga
Parish priest Father Adrian Gavigan said the family were given no information about fears over the Ebola virus before a statement was issued to national media. He said he went back to the family home after hearing the six o’clock news.
“It was told to the public, it was not told to the family,” Fr Gavigan said. “Truthfully I was angry… The family told me that they had no word at all from the Health Service Executive that this is what is being investigated.”
Fr Gavigan added: “I am amazed by the approach. It is distracting for the family and it worsens their grief.”
The HSE said it had maintained close contact with the Quinn family following the death and only issued the statement over Ebola on the back of media reports. But the agency did not confirm if someone had spoken to family members about precautionary tests, releasing a statement which read: “The story broke in the media just before 6pm yesterday at which point the HSE had to make a public statement on the matter, given the urgency and nature of a public health issue such as this.”
Clickable map and timeline – the deadly spread of Ebola
Feeling unwell
Dessie Quinn had been working for KN Network Services in Sierra Leone, and had returned to his family home in Doorin, Mountcharles, Donegal, to spend time with relatives and friends.
Although he was being treated for malaria on his return, he was not an in-patient in hospital and was well enough to be out socialising with friends in the evenings before he died. He went to bed at a friend’s house on Wednesday night after complaining of feeling unwell, and was found dead hours later. Quinn’s girlfriend and five-year-old live in Dublin.
According to the The World Health Organisation (WHO) over 1,350 people have died since the lastest outbreak Guinea in March which has since spread to Sierra Leone, Liberia and Nigeria.
There is no cure for Ebola, and outbreaks have a fatality rate of up to 90 per cent. Rigorous quarantine measures have to be used to stop its spread, as well as high standards of hygiene for anyone who might come into contact with sufferers.