This ward provides cubicles with one, two or three beds for patients with infectious diseases.  It is designed to reduce the risk of cross-infection between patients.  We are very grateful to the members of Knockbreda Parish Church in Belfast who provided the funds for the ward.

Typically the ward will have patients with conditions such as Tuberculosis, Typhoid, Dysentry etc. Quite a few of the patients have HIV as this condition increases the patient’s susceptibility to infectious diseases.

We partitioned the ward in 2012 when we faced the challenge of Viral Haemorrhagic Fever outbreaks in the region, the first being Ebola virus and the second Marburg.  These are both highly contagious and very dangerous conditions.  We utilised our old operating theatre building for cases we considered particularly high risk.  We are grateful to supporters in UK who have provided some special protection gowns and masks to help reduce the risks to our own Staff caring for these patients.

Happily in the end it turned out that all our suspected cases were negative on testing but we need to be vigilant for any future outbreaks.