As of: October 8, 2024 4:44 p.m
Almost a week ago, two travelers at Hamburg Central Station triggered a major fire and police operation. The suspicion that they could have been infected with the Marburg virus was not confirmed. However, Hamburg’s social welfare authority now admits mistakes in handling the operation.
Experts with whom NDR 90.3 spoke came to the conclusion: What happened a week ago was a reality check for an emergency. And because it wasn’t an emergency, everyone got away with a black eye. What the experts believe is necessary: better communication between the authorities and better crisis communication to the outside world. Clearer communication with those affected would also be necessary.
Hamburg Airport was ready to isolate those affected
Everything was prepared: Hamburg Airport was ready to isolate the medical student immediately after his arrival. He came from Rwanda and initially landed in Frankfurt. But then he came to Hamburg by train – the responsible health department only found out about it when he was at the main station, according to the social authorities.
The contact details were not included
When reviewing the measures taken and the associated communication, it became apparent, for example, that – contrary to what was initially reported – the contact details of the passengers traveling on the affected ICE were not recorded. An authority spokesman now told the German Press Agency. The ICE was cleaned at the Hamburg-Langenfelde depot – but not under decontamination conditions. That’s why the train was stopped by the federal police in Hamburg-Harburg. Because there is at least a theoretical possibility of infection, all passengers who used the toilets on the train should come forward.
Social authorities wanted to locate contact persons by calling
The spokesman for the social welfare authority said that the two travelers were tested that evening. The negative PCR results were available to the Bernhard Nocht Institute during the night and were sent to the social authorities shortly before 9 a.m. in the morning, it said. The emergency services involved were informed by the UKE that night. If the tests had been positive, the social authorities would have been informed that night, said the spokesman. Then an attempt would have been made to locate contact persons as quickly as possible using the data from Deutsche Bahn and a public appeal.
Parts of the main station temporarily closed
A medical student arrived in Frankfurt am Main from Rwanda with an accompanying person on October 2nd and traveled on to Hamburg by train. In the East African country, the 27-year-old said he had contact with a patient infected with the Marburg virus twice as part of his studies. Since his companion feared that she might have become infected with the virus through him due to symptoms consistent with the illness on the way home, he contacted doctors in Hamburg. The federal police then closed a platform at the main station. The student and his companion came to the University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) for an examination on Wednesday evening – in a special infection van.
Authority: No risk for fellow travelers
On Thursday, the social authorities announced that the two had tested negative for the Marburg virus. According to the authorities, any risk to third parties can be ruled out. There was never a risk of infection with the Marburg virus for both air and train passengers.
Suspected cases remain under observation
As a precaution, the medical student should still be observed until the end of the incubation period of up to 21 days. After remaining isolated in a special area for highly contagious infectious diseases at the UKE, the authority planned home isolation under the supervision of the responsible health authority. The girlfriend was also observed at the UKE for a weekend.
Marburg virus: No cases in Germany for a long time
The Marburg virus cannot be transmitted through the air. People can only become infected if they have close contact with seriously ill people or their body fluids, as the Robert Koch Institute says. There is no risk in normal encounters with people in public and private spaces. The Marburg virus can cause high fever and symptoms such as muscle pain, abdominal cramps, diarrhea and bloody vomit. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 24 to 88 percent of those infected have died in previous outbreaks. According to the US health authority CDC, there has been no outbreak of the disease in Germany since 1967. The pathogen bears the name of the German city because laboratory workers there were infected with the previously unknown virus in test monkeys in 1967.
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More information
At the University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, doctors examined two people who had been in Rwanda. Tests for the Marburg virus were negative. (October 3, 2024) more
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NDR 90.3 | NDR 90.3 Current | Oct 8, 2024 | 5:00 p.m
