Sacrificing Spring Festival to keep city safe
Print Edition
SPRING Festival proved a nerve-racking time for Hu Yunwen, head of the pathogen diagnosis and biosafety department of Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, as she and her team were faced with a suspected case of the Ebola virus.
This would have been China’s first case of the disease that has killed more than 9,550 people in West Africa in its current outbreak.
The patient, who had recently returned from Sierra Leone — a center for the virus — was found to have severe malaria and not Ebola.
However, the 57-year-old Shanghai man, who was infected with AIDS, subsequently died.
Hu’s lab has the city’s highest biosafety level — Biosafety level 3 — is where samples are tested for suspected serious diseases such as SARS, H7N9 bird flu and Ebola.
The lab is on standby 365 days a year, ready to conduct emergency tests.
In March 2013, it was the first lab in the world to detect the H7N9 strain of bird flu.
“It was also the first time that a Chinese lab detected a new type of virus, reflecting our professional ability,” said Hu.
While Hu has been involved in virus research for 20 years, she admits she was terrified to hear on February 20 — the second day of the new year — that she was to test for Ebola.
“We were informed by the local health authority at 11:20pm, that a Shanghai man who had returned from Sierra Leone recently had been admitted to hospital.
“He had been feverish for three days and had symptoms such as headache, diarrhea and was frequently losing consciousness.”
“He was suspected of having Ebola and was transferred to the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center for further tests and treatment,” Hu said.
“We all leapt into action immediately. I took a taxi from my home in Minhang District to the center in rural Jinshan District, calling ahead to my team to make preparations.”
“This is usual for us — we must rush from our homes after receiving an order, no matter when or to where,” said Hu.
“Spring Festival is no exception,” she added.
An hour after receiving the call, the lab was ready, said Hu.
The patient arrived at the center at 2:20am, and a blood sample taken and sent to Hu.
“Though the lab has been operating since 2008, this was the first time that we’d encountered a possible case of Ebola, which is such a highly contagious and virulent virus,” said Hu.
“All the team members were very nervous,” she added.
“We were working under great stress, because there have been reports of medical staff becoming infected with Ebola in Africa. “While we took all the proper protective measures, the very thought of becoming infected was still horrifying,” Hu said.
Hu said her heart was pounding when the sample tested negative for Ebola three hours later. The patient was confirmed to be suffering from malaria.
Hu said her team had been prepared for the worst.
“If the patient was confirmed to have Ebola, relevant isolation measures would have be adopted immediately, following a detailed plan,” Hu said.
While the Ebola scare proved a false alarm, Hu and her team’s speedy work helped ensure that Shanghai residents could be quickly reassured and enjoy their Spring Festival break.
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