Health officials board ship docked in N.O. tonight (Update: Malaria)

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NEW ORLEANS -- The Centers for Disease Control confirms that its health experts, members of the U.S. Coast Guard, and government epidemiologists will board a ship scheduled to dock Wednesday night in New Orleans East.

Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser said three to six people are being offloaded from the ship into ambulances at Port Ship Services in Belle Chasse.

A state official told WWL-TV this afternoon that the ship, the Marine Phoenix, alerted state and U.S. health officials that three of the crewmen are sick. The ship has been anchored near Belle Chasse since 1 p.m.

The official says that a radio transmission from the ship reported symptoms that appear to be similar to malaria, an illness spread by mosquitoes.

The official also told WWL-TV the boat originated in Africa and is last known to have ported in Panama. The CDC confirms that The New Orleans Emergency Operations Center has been alerted.

CDC confirms the ship did also make a stop in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which currently has Ebola cases. The CDC will be boarding the ship with the Coast Guard and State Health Officials.

"I think it's standard procedure in this era of an outbreak in West Africa of Ebola," said Dr. Fred Lopez of the LSU Health Sciences Center. "Anyone coming out of that area of the world with these symptoms should be examined by health care professionals."

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We have confirmed one critically ill person was transported to W Jeff Hospital, 2-3 others may be transported as well

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Ambulance drivers in hazmat suits just pulled into W Jeff Hospital.

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"CDC received word early this morning about a ship that would be arriving at the New Orleans port with an ill passenger on board. US Coast Guard and EMS crews met the boat and EMS will be transporting the ill crew member to a local hospital for evaluation and care. The vessel's itinerary did include Matadi, DRC, in addition to other ports, but there is no evidence to suggest that the crew members traveled to, or had any contact with anyone from the remote inland region of DRC where Ebola cases are occurring. Given this, the chance that the crew member could have Ebola is thought to be exceedingly low. A CDC staff member who had been in New Orleans to train partners will be joining a team from the Coast Guard and Louisiana Department of Health in meeting the ship later today when it docks. We will be evaluating two other crew members who reported mild illnesses recently and will be on hand to answer questions and provide information."


Christine Pearson, Sr. Press Officer
National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases
CDC

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