A consultant at the Ministry of Finance has become the first suspected case of Ebola reported in the Nigerian state of Lagos since the outbreak surfaced in Liberia this year. The Liberian was a member of a Liberian delegation attending a conference in Lagos when he reportedly began exhibiting symptoms of the deadly virus.
The man suspected of the deadly virus reportedly came in contact with the disease when caring for his sister who died as a result of the deadly virus at the St. Joseph Catholic Hospital in Monrovia about three weeks ago. He is said to have also gone after his dead sister's husband who is said to have run away after the woman's death.
The suspected Ebola patient upon entering Nigeria was said to be suffering malaria and started throwing up. Family and friends who have spoken with the official say he sounds good. Liberian diplomatic sources in Lagos told FrontPageAfrica Thursday night that the Nigerian test was not conclusive.
Accordingly Nigerian authorities have taken specimen of the suspected Ebola patient to the WHO regional office in Dakar, but the results are yet to be released. The Liberian mission in Lagos is said to be unhappy that authorities announced the suspected case before the results were determined.
"Without waiting for the result, the result was leaked. ECOWAS is prepared to evacuate him on a medical plane, but waiting for the result. By 12 Friday, the results will be out", a Liberian diplomat in Lagos told FrontPageAfrica.
FrontPageAfrica has learned that the Liberian Mission in Lagos is contemplating filing a complaint with the Nigerian Health Ministry. Nigerian government health officials, in a briefing noted that the 40-year-old Liberian is in a private hospital in the Obalende area of the State.
The Lagos State Ministry of Health, on Thursday, said it is testing the Liberian, and confirmed he is in his 40s, for the deadly Ebola virus. The special adviser on public health to the Lagos state government, Yewande Adeshina, told a news conference the man had arrived in Lagos from Liberia on Sunday.
"The patient was admitted and detained on suspicion of possible EBV (Ebola) infection, while the blood sample collection and testing was initiated," she said in her statement.
Samples had been sent to a World Health Organisation (WHO) laboratory in Dakar, she said, adding, "results are pending." The officials also noted that the hospital housing the Liberian has been cordoned off and the victim isolated.
This would be the first recorded case of one of the world's deadliest diseases in Nigeria, Africa's biggest economy and most populous nation, with 170 million people and some of Africa's least adequate health infrastructure.
Lead Doctor in Sierra Leone Infected
It would be recalled that the virus recently infected Sheik Umar Khan, a Sierra Leonean doctor leading the fight to curb the dreaded disease. Sierra Leone's Health Minister confirmed that the doctor in charge of battling the current Ebola outbreak had become ill with the deadly disease.
Health and Sanitation Minister Miatta Kargbo issued a statement Tuesday saying that Dr. Sheik Humarr Khan has a confirmed case of Ebola. The minister described the stricken doctor as a national hero for the sacrifices he has made during the current outbreak of the hemorrhagic fever.
The minister said the doctor is now on his way to a Doctors Without Borders treatment center in Sierra Leone's eastern Kailahun District. More than 500 people have died in the current Ebola outbreak in three West African countries: Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia. Doctors Without Borders said earlier this month that it feared the number of patients now being treated in Sierra Leone could be "just the tip of the iceberg."
The 39-year-old Sheik Umar Khan, is a virologist credited with treating more than 100 Ebola victims. He has been transferred to a treatment ward run by medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres.
Nigeria takes precautions
The Lagos State government had earlier in July laid out some precautionary measures to stop the outbreak of the disease that has ravaged neighboring West African countries, in the state. The State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, had in a statement said the measures became necessary with a view to preventing the outbreak of the disease in the State.
He listed measures that will help in stopping the outbreak to include; washing hands often with soap and water, avoiding close contact with people who are sick and ensuring that objects used by the sick are decontaminated and properly disposed.
He advised health workers to be at alert and ensure they always wear personal protective equipment as well as observe universal basic precautions when attending to suspected or confirmed cases, and report same to their Local Government Area or Ministry of Health immediately.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) had commenced the training of health workers to prevent the deadly Ebola virus from spreading into the country.
Beyond MOH Control
On Thursday, Liberia's Minister of Health and Social Welfare Dr. Walter T. Gwenigale revealed that the fight against the deadly virus that has claimed the lives of people in the county and its neighbors, Sierra Leone and Guinea cannot not be combated by the sole efforts of the Health Ministry but through a full collaborative effort by all Liberians.
"This disease is now beyond the ability of the Ministry of Heath alone to care for because it is spreading so fast all of us have to be involved. I don't know how to do it, but the communities, the County superintendents, the paramount chiefs, town chiefs, the clan chief, all of us have to be involved," he said Thursday at the Ministry of Information regular press briefing.
According to Dr. Gwenigale, the persistent denial, resistance and fear of the virus by many Liberians is contributing to the rapid spread of the disease among the country's population. Addressing the press briefing on Thursday, Minister Gwenigale noted that the resistance from community members to allow Ebola dead to be buried in their communities and a refusal from community members to allow the spraying of affected areas are two major problems impeding the work of the Ebola response team. Said Dr. Gwenigale: "There are still people in our communities who are still saying this disease does not exist and that we did this just to get money. The other reason that the disease is spreading is resistance to carry out the things we have told them not to do. The other reason that the disease is still is spreading is fear of being isolated. "
"Some people are saying that when they come at the hospital, we will infect them so they are afraid to come at the Hospital. Another reason is hiding the people with the disease. The most difficult one right now is the internal migration of people." Dr. Gwenigale went on to say that the Ministry has tried its utmost best to prove the existence of the virus in the country as evidenced by the regular updates and the confirmation from the World Heath Organization (WHO) and the death of heath workers in the country.
Continued Gwenigale: "When newspapers continue to give information that is not good and when our own leaders do not believe us and people believe them it gives us problems. My plea is to everyone, especially our leaders to please get the Liberian people to believe us. We cannot do these things to undermine the efforts that we are trying to make to control this disease in our country."
The Health Minister said the effort by the Ebola response team is meant to save lives and not to kill people as is being falsely misinterpreted in some quarters.
Said Dr. Gwenigale: "Now, the health workers are dying, how they can inject people when they themselves are dying. I have lost more than 12 health workers, including a doctor. This disease is now beyond the ability of the Ministry of Heath alone to cater to because it is spreading so fast, all of us have to be involved. I don't know how to do it, but the communities, the County superintendents, the paramount chiefs, town chiefs, the clan chief, all of us have to be involved. I think all of has to say what can we do as individuals, what can we do so this disease can stop spreading."
Health workers at the frontline fighting the disease have fallen prey with over a dozen dead and others still being catered to in isolation units. Lofa, Montserrado, Margibi and Bomi are the counties in which cases of the deadly virus have been reported. The Ebola virus has killed 632 people across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone since an outbreak began in February. The virus has killed 632 people across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone since an outbreak began in February, straining a string of weak health systems despite international help.
No comments:
Post a Comment