Medical personnel sent to Choma to verify a suspected Ebola case

Government has dispatched medical personnel to Choma to verify a suspected Ebola case after a truck driver was found dead in his cabin on Thursday.

Vice president Guy Scott told parliament that Government had received information on the truck driver found dead in Choma and said a team of medical experts had since been sent to the town to ascertain the facts.

This followed a question from Dundumwezi UPND MP Edgar Singombe who wanted to find out what Government was doing about the panic that had gripped Choma residents following a truck driver who was found dead in his truck cabin.

Dr Scott however said that Zambia has never recorded a case of Ebola from the time the disease broke out.

He called for peace and calm among the people as the country was not at high risk of contracting the disease as it did not have direct flights to affected countries.

He urged the public to take correct measures to avoid contracting Ebola.

Choma residents were on Thursday afternoon gripped with fear and panic after news spread of a Zimbabwean driver who was found dead in his truck from suspected Ebola.

Some residents rushed for the safety of their homes after word spread in the central business area of Choma.

China Maduma, 59, who had been travelling from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to South Africa, was driving a truck belonging to Moody Blue Transport, registration number WPV001GP.

Mr Maduma’s truck was laden with copper and he had stopped for a rest on Thursday morning at a truck stop along the Choma-Livingstone Road.

He spent some time cleaning his truck and some workers at the truck stop heard him communicate with fellow truckers who were still transiting from Lusaka, that he was unwell.

Mr Maduma was seen sleeping on his driver’s seat and by 13:00 hours when his counterparts arrived, he was already dead.

After this, no one dared to go close to the truck for fear of contracting what they suspected to be the Ebola virus, which had ravaged some West African countries, as well as some confirmed cases in the DRC.

Health workers from Choma medical office were immediately informed about Mr Maduma’s death, which some people at the car park suspected could have been caused by Ebola.

A check at the scene around 15:30 hours found two health workers clad in Ebola protective clothing disinfecting the truck and the body which was lying inside the cabin.

Scores of truck drivers and other health workers stood at a distance as the two workers continued spraying.

Southern Province deputy police commissioner, Milner Muyambango said police could not remove the body from the cabin immediately as they had to wait for health officials to fumigate the truck.

Mr Muyambango said that the body was only removed from the cabin around 20:00 hours and was taken to Choma Hospital mortuary after it was examined by health workers.

He said Zimbabwean authorities had since been informed about the death of Mr Maduma to enable his family come to identify the body.

Provincial medical officer Jelita Chinyonga, however, said Mr Maduma did not die from Ebola, but he was discovered to have been suffering from ulcers, after being screened.

“Immediately when we were informed about his death, our health officials who were in Ebola protective clothing rushed to the scene, fumigated the entire truck and the cabin. It was discovered that Mr Maduma was suffering from ulcers,” she said.

Dr Chinyonga said health officers were geared to curb any case of Ebola outbreak and urged people to continue taking precautionary measures against Ebola.