THE mystery disease that killed two brothers at the Netcare Olivedale Hospital recently has been positively diagnosed.
Earlier it had been thought that the siblings had died of viral haemorrhagic fever or some other epidemic-prone diseases but all those were ruled out on Friday after the National Institute of Communicable Diseases' (NICD) findings.
Dr Lucille Blumberg of the NICD, pictured, said the disease was identified as a rare syndrome associated with Epstein Barr virus infection.
"The infection causes glandular fever. It is a common illness that affects 95 percent of people by early adulthood. Typically, it is a mild, self-limiting illness with no adverse outcome.
The NICD said there was no need to continue monitoring those who came into contact with the deceased since this is not an infectious disease.
"They are not in danger. All contact monitoring has ceased," she said.
Mystery killer virus identified
THE mystery disease that killed two brothers at the Netcare Olivedale Hospital recently has been positively diagnosed.
Earlier it had been thought that the siblings had died of viral haemorrhagic fever or some other epidemic-prone diseases but all those were ruled out on Friday after the National Institute of Communicable Diseases' (NICD) findings.
Dr Lucille Blumberg of the NICD, pictured, said the disease was identified as a rare syndrome associated with Epstein Barr virus infection.
"The infection causes glandular fever. It is a common illness that affects 95 percent of people by early adulthood. Typically, it is a mild, self-limiting illness with no adverse outcome.
The NICD said there was no need to continue monitoring those who came into contact with the deceased since this is not an infectious disease.
"They are not in danger. All contact monitoring has ceased," she said.
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