(MENAFN- Jordan Times) The disease that broke out in the Intensive Care Unit of Zarqa Public Hospital late last week has not yet been identified, but the outbreak is under control, Minster of Health Abdul Latif Wreikat said on Sunday.
The ministry on Friday closed the hospital's ICU after an unknown illness believed to be pneumonia affected seven nurses, one of whom died on Thursday, one doctor, and the brother of one of the nurses.
The minister said that so far, only 11 people have been confirmed infected with the disease, four of whom are receiving treatment and responding positively to medication, while six others have already been discharged from the hospital.
The ministry has set up an emergency team from its Communicable Diseases Directorate to investigate the cause of the illness, he said.
"The ministry's team took samples from the infected citizens, who also underwent intensive care measures to identify the cause," Wreikat told reporters at a press conference on Sunday, noting that the infected patients' symptoms are similar to those of pneumonia.
The minister, who visited the Zarqa hospital on Saturday, said the ministry has confirmed that the outbreak has been brought under control and that the infected individuals are not in danger of spreading the disease to others.
Meanwhile, the minister said, the hospital has been sterilised three times over the past three days as a precautionary measure, while its employees have received a short, intensive training course on preventing the disease from spreading.
He also urged the media to be cautious and objective in reporting on the outbreak.
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