by Sunday Aborisade, Udeme Ekwere and Bukky Adebayo
Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu
The
Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, on Monday said one of the
doctors that treated the Liberian-born American, Patrick Sawyer, who
died of the Ebola disease, had contracted the virus.
Chukwu made this known in Abuja as Reuters
news agency quoted the Geneva-based World Health Organisation as saying
in a statement that Nigeria had four cases, of which three were classed
as ‘probable’ Ebola and one as ‘suspected.’
The death toll from the Ebola outbreak,
according to WHO, rose from 729 to 887 by August 1. The total number
of cases in the four West African countries affected is now 1,603.
Sawyer, who arrived at the Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos on July 20, died at an Obalende hospital five days after.
Chukwu said, ‘‘This is now the second
case of Ebola virus disease in Nigeria. This victim is one of the
doctors who attended to the patient who brought Ebola virus to
Nigeria.’’
He also told journalists in Abuja that
‘‘about eight other persons who came into contact with Sawyer, and who
had developed the Ebola symptoms, had been quarantined while 70 others
were under surveillance.’’
The minister said, “All those who came
into contact with the late Sawyer depending on the level of contact are
still being traced and being invited every day and they are placed under
surveillance just to ensure that the spread of disease is curtailed.”
He added that the Federal Government was
currently reinforcing the technical working group on Ebola to include
35 state governments. Lagos State already has a TWG.
The minister allayed the fears being
expressed by the public about the corpses that were brought into
Anambra and Imo states from some countries which already had records of
the deadly disease.
He said, “Medical records have proved
that the corpse taken to Imo State was not carrying Ebola while test is
being carried out on the one taken to Anambra State.
‘‘We are collaborating with all the
state governments to establish isolation wards for persons proven
symptomatic to Ebola and a 24- hour emergency operation centre.”
The minister also on Monday inaugurated
an Ebola Treatment and Research Group with a mandate to carry out an
extensive research into the Ebola virus.
Chukwu said the group would receive and
verify claims on Ebola cure; collate and analyse researches on the virus
and advise the government as may be appropriate.
The group, according to the minister,
has the Director – General of the Nigerian Institute of Pharmaceutical
Research and Development and the Director-General of the Nigerian
Institute of Medical Research as chairmen.
He added that the Nigerian researcher,
who had found evidence of Bitter Kola inhibiting the growth of Ebola
virus, Prof. Maurice Iwu ,and the Director-General of the Nigerian
Centre for Disease Control are also members of the group. Iwu was also a
former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Chukwu said, “Although the research on
bitter kola was not concluded, no progress can be made without research.
For now, there is no scientifically proven vaccine or drug for the
treatment of Ebola.”
He assured the public that the Federal
Government was doing everything to stop the outbreak of the disease
but enjoined everybody to embrace good hygiene by constantly washing
their hands.
Also on Monday, the President of the
Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria, Dr. Steven
Oluwole, said that only one authentic case of Ebola had been
documented in Nigeria.
He added that “the risk to all contacts of the case are theoretically unlikely to be uniform.”
Oluwole stressed the need for tracing,
screening, follow-up on all contacts and effective control at
Nigerian borders as means of checking the spread of the virus.
He described the virus as “a
filovirus, which is transmitted to humans from contact with infected
wild animals, or consumption of their raw or undercooked meat.”
The scientist listed the susceptible animals as fruit bats, monkeys, chimpanzees and antelopes.
He noted that human to human
transmission primarily occurs through contact with body fluids of
infected persons, adding that skin and mucous membranes are the main
routes of entry.
Infected doctor is not dead –FG
Just minutes after Chukwu and Oluwole spoke, there were rumours that the doctor who treated Sawyer had died.
The rumour was quickly dismissed by the Director, Centre for Disease Control, Abuja, Prof. Abdulsalami Nasidi.
Nasidi told journalists in Lagos that the doctor had been quarantined and was presently receiving treatment .
He said, ,”We will not be able to
release the name of the new contact; but we know that the person is a
doctor and a female. The patient is not dead. She is alive. Experts from
the local and international organisations are attending to the
patient.”
Lagos plans another isolation centre, may isolate 10 people
In Lagos, The PUNCH gathered
that the state government had begun renovating another centre at the
Mainland Infectious Diseases Hospital, Yaba , to isolate and accommodate
some of the people that had direct contact with the late Sawyer.
A reliable source, who is also on the
team of experts monitoring the testing and surveillance of persons who
came into contact with Sawyer, said the building would give more room
for them to contain possible infections.
He said, “ We are presently renovating
another building at the hospital, so that we can isolate more contacts.
This is now important with the recent development. We need to increase
vigilance on surveillance on persons who came in contact with him.
“For now, we are looking at isolating at
least 10 people that had first contact with him (Sawyer). This is in
line with the stated guidelines for the monitoring of the virus by the
World Health Organisation.”
The source added that the state
government might earmark the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital,
Ikeja, as another hospital for isolated persons.
It was learnt that this caused panic among health workers and patients at LASUTH.
A nurse who spoke on condition of
anonymity with one of our correspondents, expressed fears that the plan
might lead to an outbreak of the disease in the hospital.
She said, “We have been told that it is
possible that they may bring in more people that came into contact with
him (Sawyer) here. We are scared that LASUTH may not be the best place
to bring anybody who may have contracted an highly infectious disease
like Ebola. There is too much exposure for us, the health workers and
other patients who come to the hospital.”
Earlier, the state Commissioner for
Health, Dr. Jide Idris, appealed to striking doctors under the aegis of
the Nigerian Medical Association to call off their strike and join the
government to fight the Ebola virus.
He said the government would be
offering incentives to any health worker who volunteered to work with
the team of doctors treating any infected person.
Idris said, “ We also welcome volunteers
from the health profession and those who do so shall be given
incentives. We also appeal to residents to support the government in
fighting the scourge by being cautious.
‘‘As of today, one person out of the
eight people who came into contact with the late victim of Ebola has
tested positive. The state has established isolation and treatment
centre for the patient.
“The members of staff at this centre
have also been trained on how to treat and handle patients under their
care. The hospital is also provided with enough facilities to ensure
that the officials and other patients do not contact the virus.
“The patients under our surveillance
were those who came into contact with the late Liberian-American. And
the rapid response team has been in communication with these patients
who developed fever and other symptoms.
“We will not stop in tracking all those
who came into contact with Mr. Sawyer. They remain in isolation until
the confirmatory results are in and those who test positive for the
virus will remain in isolation until they are no longer infectious.”
FCTA advises residents
In Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory
Administration called on the residents to be vigilant and to
report any suspicious case to a health facility nearest to them.
The FCTA Secretary, Health and Human
Services Secretariat, Dr. Demola Onakomaiya, made the call at an
emergency meeting with the management staff of the secretariat on the
preparedness of the FCTA to tackle the disease.
Noting that Ebola virus could be
devastating to families and communities, he said it could be controlled
through the use of recommended protective measures.
Airlines operators to introduce masks, gloves
Meanwhile, the upsurge of the Ebola virus has been giving airline operators sleepless nights.
Investigations showed that officials
of the airlines have been busy working on measures to ensure the
safety of their passengers and crew members.
One of such strategies, The PUNCH learnt on Monday, is to have their cabin crew members wear gloves permanently in both local and international flights.
In addition, cabin crew members might wear masks to cover their mouths and noses, especially during international flights.
This, according to one of the airline officials, is to reduce the risk of spreading or contracting the disease.
He said, “We are concerned because this
Ebola issue is a serious one and all eyes are on the aviation industry.
We the operators are on our toes also because it is risky for our
officials who are on duty on a daily basis. The issue of gloves may soon
be mandatory for everybody and we are still looking at other options.”
US to send 50 experts to W’Africa
The United States has said it will in
the next 30 days send 50 health experts to West Africa to help contain
the Ebola outbreak.
The director of the US Centres for
Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Tom Frieden, who made this known in a
statement, described the Ebola outbreak as “ the biggest and most
complex in history.”
He said, “It will take many months, and
it won’t be easy, but Ebola can be stopped. We know what needs to be
done. CDC is surging our response, sending 50 additional disease control
experts to the region in the next 30 days.”
Trial drug sent to US Ebola victims in Liberia
A representative of the US National
Institutes of Health is said to have contacted the Samaritan’s Purse in
Liberia and offered an experimental treatment, known as ZMapp, for the
two American patients who had contracted the virus.
Dr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol, who
work with the Samaritan’s Purse, an aid organisation, were believed to
have contracted the virus from another health care worker in a
Liberian hospital.
ZMapp was developed by the biotech firm, Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc.
Brantly and Writebol were told that
ZMapp which was developed by the biotech firm, Mapp Biopharmaceutical
Inc., had never been tried before in a human being but that it had
shown promise in small experiments with monkeys.
WHO said in its statement on Monday that
Guinea has suffered the highest death toll with 358 fatalities out of
485 confirmed Ebola cases so far. Sierra Leone has had the largest
number of cases, 646 overall, and 273 deaths, while Liberia has had 468
cases and 255 deaths.
Who said apart from Sawyer’s, the other
probable Ebola cases in Nigeria were a health-care worker and a Nigerian
who had been to Guinea.
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