case of Ebola Virus in Lagos State, with an assurance that no Nigerian
is infected with the virus.
Addressing a joint Ministerial Press briefing of the Lagos State
Ministry of Health and Federal Ministry of Health on development
concerning the disease on Monday, the Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide
Idris, affirmed that there had only been one case of imported Ebola
resulting in the death of a Liberian diplomat in Lagos.
He emphasised that health authorities were being very proactive about
the detection of the Ebola Virus in the Liberian, who was on his way
to Calabar for a conference, by ensuring that all contacts were being
actively followed.
Dr Idris said part of the measures taken after the death of the
Liberian was the demobilisation of the private hospital where he was
admitted and elimination of primary source of infection.
He stated that the decontamination process in all affected areas had commenced.
"The corpse of the victim has since been cremated, and the ash is
awaiting further directives from the Liberian Embassy," he said,
commending the Management of the hospital for effectively detecting a
high-risk patient within 24 hours.
"Adhering strictly to WHO guidelines, the body of the deceased patient
was decontaminated using 10% sodium hypochlorite and cremated, with
the permission of the government of Liberia. A cremation urn has been
prepared for dispatch to the family. The vehicle that conveyed the
remains was also fully decontaminated," he added.
In terms of contacts tracing, Dr Idris explained that so far a total
of 59 contacts was registered consisting of 44 hospital contacts (38
healthcare workers and six laboratory staff) and 15 Airport contacts
comprising 3 ECOWAS staff-driver, Liaison, and Protocol officers,
Nigerian Ambassador to Monrovia, two nursing staff and five Airport
passenger handlers.
He further explained that out of the number, 20 contacts had been
physically screened of which 50 per cent were of the type one contact
and another 50 per cent had type two contacts.
The Airline manifest has not been provided by the airline at the time
of this report and therefore, the precise number of passenger contacts
is yet to be ascertained, especially as two flights were involved
(Monrovia-Lome and Lome-Lagos). There was no report of a medical
incident filed.
Dr Idris stated that an isolation ward was designated by the Lagos
State Ministry of Health at the Infectious Disease Hospital, Yaba for
case management while the designation of three other health facilities
is underway.
The Commissioner also said a call-in team was established for the
public to dial in and obtain information on the Ebola Virus Disease
while Toll-free lines were obtained from a telecommunication service
provider to be used for answering questions, creating awareness, and
receiving notifications of any suspected case just as public awareness
creation through social media such as Twitter and Facebook's accounts
had been also activated.
The President of the Nigerian Academy of Science, Professor Oyewale
Tomori, who was also at the briefing said all the contact persons are
being screened on a continuous basis to look for any possible signs of
the disease.
He commended the timely action taken by the Lagos State Government and
the private hospital adding that there is absolutely no need for
people to panic as the golden rule is to observe the personal hygiene
of always washing the hands regularly with soap.
In a statement issued after the press briefing, a spokesman for the
governor of Lagos State, Mr Hakeem Bello, assured Nigerians that both
the State and Federal Governments were well prepared to ensure that
the Ebola Virus Disease did not spread.
Also at the briefing were the Special Adviser to the Governor on
Information and Strategy, Mr Lateef Raji and Permanent Secretary
Ministry of Health, Dr Modele Osunkiyesi, Permanent Secretary, Health
Services Commission, Dr Hamid Balogun and Permanent Secretary Primary
Health Care Board, Dr Kayode Oguntimehin.
By Channels Television
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