Pulmonologist Beatrice Mahler draws attention to the danger represented by a new respiratory disease, about which too little information is known. “It’s not a game or a joke, it’s a disease that the international medical world is watching very carefully.”
Beatrice Mahler signals a potential danger for the health of Romanians. Photo Facebook/BM
In the Congo, a state of maximum medical alert was declared, after a respiratory disease about which not much information is known led to the death of several people. With flu-like symptoms, the disease, which is transmitted through the air and mostly affects children under the age of five, has raised concerns among officials in Brussels, who have said that, at least so far, no case was registered in Europe.
In this context, pulmonologist Beatrice Mahler posted a message on her Facebook account in which she draws attention to the fact that the Romanian Ministry of Health did not inform either doctors or patients about the potential danger. “My message is not intended to cause panic”she says, but it is essential that people are informed.
“CHAOS or DISEASE X
It is not a game or a joke, it is a disease that the international medical world is watching very carefully.
So far we know that it is transmitted through the air. The symptoms resemble the flu in the first few days. That is: fever, headache, cough, difficulty breathing. Later, severe anemia occurs, requiring blood transfusions. So far, 71 deaths have been reported out of a total of less than 500 cases.
Congo, because the disease X appeared there, asked for international help for the patients, but also to identify who is producing the disease.
My message is not intended to cause panic.
However, I firmly believe that the people of Romania must be protected, and the chaos of the current days does not mean protection. But maybe this is what is wanted: CHAOS…
I am a doctor in the largest hospital for respiratory diseases in Romania, and I did not receive this information, although the World Health Organization (WHO) draws attention that we are talking about a respiratory condition. It may not be considered important for hospitals to be prepared for difficult situations.
I wondered if the strategy of the Ministry of Health – Romania is to alert the population… I searched… I didn’t find anything. Mr. Minister Prof. Dr. Alexandru Rafila has other priorities, certainly not public health.
And because now I can say, in the pandemic, at the beginning, when I was asked, just once, what my opinion is, I emphasized that we need information and not panic, that we need to have hospitals prepared and we were not…and we’re not even now… I sadly realized then that my opinion didn’t count, and the consequences were devastating for people’s trust in doctors and more.” wrote Beatrice Mahler on her Facebook account.
“Congo seems far away, it is a story from another continent, the level of international alarm is low for Romania, but information is essential and mandatory for state institutions, for new doctors and for the entire population of Romania“, the doctor justified this post.
