Another nurse who attended to Patrick Sawyer, the Liberian national who died of Ebola Virus Disease, at the First Consultant Hospital has died.
The nurse, who had been at the B Ward – a male ward which is now referred to as Ebola Ward – of the Yaba Mainland General Hospital, died in the early hours of Thursday. By 1 p.m., Thursday, a couple of family relatives who are at the hospital were seen wiping away tears and making telephone calls.
Jide Idris, the state Commissioner for Health, who was at the hospital declined to confirm the development to journalists.
The death of the nurse brings to four the number of people who have died of the virus in Nigeria.
News of the passing of the nurse came as the Minister of Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu, a professor, disclosed at a news conference in Abuja that another of the doctors who treated the late Patrick Sawyer has tested positive to the deadly virus.
Waivers for corpses from Ghana, India
The Health Minister said waivers were granted to corpses brought in from Ghana and India because they were not Ebola cases. He explained that the one from India died from cancer of the rectum adding that both were proper certified.
Concerns over quarantined victims
Meanwhile, fears heightened yesterday over the health of 198 Nigerians in quarantine, following reports that they are critically ill.
Although plans are underway by the Federal Government to provide Personal Protective Equipment, isolation tents and relevant facilities to halt the spread in the country, concerned Nigerians have called for technical support and expertise from the United States of America and the international community to help contain the spread of the disease in Nigeria
Speaking in Lagos, Managing Director, Premium Health, HMO, Dr. Ladi Okuboyejo, disclosed that. while a few victims have passed on as a result of infection with the virus, there is need for international intervention to halt the likely spread of the disease as the situation is beyond what the country can deal with presently.
Okuboyejo commended the chief consultant and other health workers at the First Consultants Hospital, Obalende, for promptly reporting the case to the appropriate health authorities after the late Patrick Sawyer, failed to respond to treatment. However, he pointed out that a lot more needed to be done to address the situation so that it does not get out of control in the country.
”We have been following closely and know some of the individuals that are being quarantined and it is beyond what we can deal with right now.
“This disease is new to us in the country and we have never been involved in containing this kind of outbreak. There is need for the international community to come and assist Nigeria in helping to halt the likely spread of the disease. As we speak, those quarantined are critically ill.
”I know that the Federal Government is trying its best but there is a lot more we can do to address this situation. Nigeria is too big to be ignored. This disease is new to us in Nigeria and there are experts
globally that have experience in treating Ebola globally. We need to tap into their expertise in-country. It is a learning curve for everyone. It is beyond our capacity to handle. If this gets out of control, the consequences, you know,” Okuboyejo disclosed.
Relatives of infected doctor send SOS to US, others
Okuboyejo, who led a group of relatives and concerned friends of the quarantined Senior Consultant Physician and Endocrinologist, Dr. Ameyo Stella Adadevoh, of the First Consultants Medical Centre, at a media briefing in Lagos yesterday, sent an SOS to the United States and international community.
“When you turn on your television now the first news item you hear about is Ebola. A few victims have passed on and the question is what is the state of things in our nation right now. We have been following it very closely because a couple of us happen to know a number of people who have been quarantined and it is obvious to all of us that are concerned that are sitting down here that it is beyond what we can deal with. We would not want to paint what is black white but it is beyond what we can deal with right now and therefore we feel that there is a need for us to make this urgent cry for help for the international community to come to our aid and our assistance.
“I think that it is important that we reflect back and try and see how things happened. I am a medical doctor and I am surprised that they made the diagnosis in the first instance because this is a man that could have gone somewhere else and could have been treated for malaria and he could have died and spread the thing like wild fire. However, the chief consultant that attended to these patients who is also being quarantined right now felt it was very necessary for them to send the blood sample for screening after which it was confirmed and she insisted he must not leave the Hospital.
“So I think we must get the facts right and really come out. We are particularly concerned that if someone could be so patriotic as to save millions of Nigerians from the hardship of this pestilence, the least we can do is to make an appeal to the international community for assistance.
“Two Americans were flown to Atlanta for help. The chap who brought this thing to Nigeria was an American. Our question is that what is the international community doing for us? What are they doing to help the situation because as we speak this is beyond what we can cope with. For example the patients that are there under quarantine, do they even have water? Do we have the facilities to cope with this? It is a big question mark.
“We know that the government is trying but certainly there is a lot more we can do to improve the situation. This why we are making this passionate cry and appeal to the international community to come to our aid so that this doesn’t get out of control. Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and God forbid if this runs out of control. The consequences you all know. So we have to call you to make this passionate appeal to you.”
Mandatory screening for air travellers
All passengers on international flights through the nation’s airports must be subjected to tests for the Ebola virus, it has been confirmed.
Minister of Aviation, Mr Osita Chidoka disclosed this while speaking during a courtesy visit paid him by Deputy Chief Information Officer at the United States Embassy, Ms Maria Brewer.
Further, he stated that the ministry was working on developing protocols at the airports in order to deal with diseases that are highly infectious, adding that in order to achieve the desired goal all rules are being complied with.
Commenting on the nation’s aviation status he said: “On the Category One certification status, I think we are on track and I think that all the gaps are being addressed so that by the time they come back, all the facilities would have been in place.”
He observed that the Ebola virus was not a dampener to the nation “because it will make us increase our protocols at the airport. I believe we are on track. Nigeria’s reaction to the Ebola crisis has been quite good.”
“We intend to collaborate with the embassy in several areas. This is a real challenge for us in West Africa; this unfortunate episode of the man that imported the disease into Nigeria. Our reaction has been quite swift and these measures are very far reaching and so far all the people with known primary contacts have been quarantined. We are thinking that the transport sector is going to be the purveyor of the movement from point A to point B.
“The airports being controlled environments, it would be easy for us to curtail the movement of people coming in and exiting. We have been trying to watch even people on local flights like from Abuja to Lagos. So I think our curtailment strategy has been good and proactive. I also believe that things that we need to do like the on-going screening at the airports and increment in the number of health workers being recruited are all geared towards curtailing the spread of the disease”
In her own remarks at the occasion, Ms Brewer commended the Federal Government for the steps it has taken so far to check the spread of the dreaded disease. She also confirmed that the US Embassy had been working with the ministry in Abuja and Lagos to ensure that screening of passengers is on-going at the airports.
Further, Chidoka said: “The Centre for Disease Control (CDC) in the United States has also been working very closely with Nigerian authorities at all levels to ensure that this disease is stamped out and that it doesn’t further impact on any population whether it is here in Nigeria or anywhere else. This is a top priority for the US government.”
Brewer further stated that the embassy was in synergy through “our public health communicators by making sure that the right information is given to the public on what they need to know, what to do, what the disease looks like and how to move forward as well as on individuals who can help in screening. We have also offered help to assist in screening passengers that are coming into the country and those going out.”
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