The Minister of Health, Alexandru Rogobete, visited the Cluj hospital on Friday where four women suspected of leprosy are hospitalized and announced that the confirmed patient is no longer contagious, stating that the situation is under control and that the risk to the population remains low.
On Friday, December 12, Alexandru Rogobete, the Minister of Health, personally went to the hospital in Cluj where three patients suspected of leprosy are hospitalized, to assess the situation and discuss with the management of the unit and specialists in epidemiology. After the visit, the minister declared that the patient confirmed with leprosy no longer poses a risk of contagion.
Regarding the other three people, among whom is the patient’s sister, Alexandru Rogobete stated that the results of the analyzes are still ongoing and that they are being carefully monitored from a clinical and epidemiological point of view. According to the first data from the epidemiological investigation, the confirmed woman became infected after, in September, she went to her native country, where she came into contact with her mother, who was already sick.
The Minister of Health wanted to reassure the population, especially the clients of the massage parlor where the women worked, and stated that leprosy has a slow evolution and low contagiousness, and that transmission requires prolonged exposure. The disease is NOT spread by:
* handshake; hugs;
* journeys in public transport;
* short proximity;
* use of common spaces.
Moreover, he recalled, DSP Cluj and the State Sanitary Inspectorate have already taken measures to limit the risk of spreading by disinfecting with ozone all the spaces used by the massage salon, checking the changing rooms and individual storage spaces, medical control of the employees by Occupational Medicine and suspending the activity of the SPA salon until the investigation is completed.
