Public health management of a suspected case of rabies

A female nurse, recruited from the Philippines five months previously, developed meningo-encephalitis and was hospitalised. She was later transferred to a hospital in a neighbouring region for specialist treatment. Rabies was part of a differential diagnosis and decisions on public health intervention had to be made in the absence of a firm diagnosis or clinical history. These decisions centred on what infection control measures should be put into effect and when. Issues included the leadership and composition of the incident management team, the coordination of consistent approaches between the health regions and organisations involved, the different priorities of those forming the team and, in particular, contacts with the media and meeting public anxieties.