#Ebola: Fresh Suspected Cases In Lagos And Kaduna

When it comes to the dreaded Ebola virus disease, it seems we are not out of the woods yet. There was news of the death of a suspected Ebola patient at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, Idi- Araba, and also a  19-year-old student of Law at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, was allegedly diagnosed with the Ebola virus in Kaduna.

The suspected patient in Lagos, who died at LUTH in the early hours of yesterday, was brought in by the Port Health authorities from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja on Monday.

A source, who was on duty when the patient was admitted into the institution’s Accident & Emergency Unit, A&E, confirmed that the patient showed high-level suspicion for Ebola, but died in the early hours of yesterday at the Spill-Over ward of the hospital.

The source told Vanguard that the patient, a male, was rushed to the A&E, with high fever,  vomiting and stooling which are confirmed Ebola-like symptoms.

Further, it was gathered that the medical team which attended to the patient, unfortunately, were not kitted with the recommended Personal Protective Equipment, PPE.

According to the source: “We quickly took his temperature, it was very high. We were all scared to take his blood samples because we were not wearing any Personal Protective Equipment.  

We had to take him out of the emergency ward to the other spill-over ward to avoid any form of contamination. 

We also reported to the Lagos State Government so that they can take him to the Infectious Diseases Hospital, IDH, in Yaba for proper treatment. But he had started vomiting blood by this morning, (yesterday) and few hours after, he died.”

 The source explained:  “As I said, we could not take any blood sample when he was alive because we were not wearing PPE, and we could not manage him effectively because of the severity of the symptoms we saw and considering the fact that he was coming from the airport. He could have been coming from an Ebola-affected country.

“They will need to establish the cause of death, so as to be able to know whether to quarantine those that he had contact with from the airport to the hospital. 

LUTH does not have the facilities to handle any suspected case of Ebola; government should know that, so they don’t keep bringing suspected cases here. All suspected cases should be taken to IDH.”

Currently, there is growing concern among the medical team that attended to the unknown patient. Some doctors who spoke to Vanguard expressed fear that they may be at risk of Ebola if the patient is confirmed to have the disease.

Other health workers urged the Federal Government to direct Port Health authorities to refer persons with such high index of suspicion to the IDH so as to avert possible transmission of the disease to other people.

However the Chief Medical Director of LUTH, Professor Akin Osibogun, .described as unfounded the rumours, he maintains that until they carry out a test on the deceased to determine if he had Ebola or not, people should stop speculating.

“There is a difference between suspected and confirmed cases and you as a journalist should know.  There is no need creating panic. We are only investigating the case to protect our people. We have had that situation two times in the hospital now. If you now say everybody that vomits has Ebola, then you cannot go to work because everybody at the bus stop will be running away, and that is creating panic.”

Osibogun maintained that there is no Ebola patient, adding that the hospital will not hesitate to make it public if there is a case of Ebola in the hospital.

“If we have a case we will announce it. As at today, Tuesday, 4pm, we have not had any Ebola patient or anyone that died of Ebola in the hospital.

“The last time we had a similar case, we investigated and it was negative. When we decide to investigate, it does not make the patient an Ebola patient. 

The other day, people started tweeting that we have an Ebola patient in the hospital. Our role is not to create panic but to keep our people safe. 

Somebody imported Ebola into the country and we are tackling it professionally; that is why we have been able to contain the spread,” he explained.

Further, Osibogun said:  “In the case of this patient, for the fact that the patient had high level of suspicion does not make the patient an Ebola patient.  When you create panic many nurses may decide to abandon the patients.

“We have been able to establish that this patient has no history of Ebola or any contact with a person that had Ebola. We are only trying to investigate the patient.  If the patient turns positive we will let you know.  As long as we are in the hospital, from time to time, we will always have high level suspicion and most times these patients turn out to be negative,” he stressed.

Meanwhile,  Kaduna State may have recorded its first case of the Ebola virus infection. The  Public Relations Officer of the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, ABUTH, Mallam Bilyaminu Umar, yesterday, told Vanguard on phone that a law student from ABU has been admitted at  ABUTH, Shika, Zaria with signs similar to that of the Ebola lethal fever.

“I can tell you that a law student who has been ill for some time has shown signs of the Ebola fever. But we are still studying the development. He has already been quarantined, and all safety measures are in place. So there is no need for panic. I cannot tell you more than this”, he said.

Confirming the development to Vanguard yesterday night, Kaduna State Commissioner for Health, Dr Thot Dogo said: “The hospital (ABUTH) authorities alerted the Ministry when it suspected that a Law undergraduate of ABU, Zaria started showing some signs of Ebola symptoms like high fever and rashes on his body after over a week he was admitted at the hospital.

“The blood sample of the patient has been taken to a laboratory in Lagos for tests, which will come out by Tuesday next week. The outcome of the laboratory result will determine further actions.

“The state government has provided the hospital management with protective equipment for its team of medical personnel attending to the patient,” he said.

Deputy Governor of Kaduna State, Ambassador Nuhu Bajoga, who is Chairman, Kaduna State Ebola Prevention and Control Committee, told Vanguard on phone that the situation should not cause any anxiety in the state.

“Kaduna State Governor, Dr. Mukhtar Ramalan Yero, in his wisdom, has designated three Ebola quarantine and prevention centres in the three senatorial zones of the state just for this kind of emergency. We have all the equipment and the personnel and two of the sites are ready.

“There is small misunderstanding between my committee and some members of the community. But we are talking and bridging the communication gap. So, in a very short time, we shall be ready to contain any outbreak in any of the zones, with the assistance of the Federal Government and the World Health Organisation.

“But while people should not unduly panic, like bathing with salt, drinking salt water and chewing bitter kola, we urge all residents of the state to maintain basic hygiene habits, like washing of hands before and after meals. People should avoid exotic wild meat for now, and cook every food well. Even though we are yet to confirm this case, we encourage people to report any sign on a sick person that may exhibit Ebola to the nearest medical health facility scattered all over the state,” he said.

Source: Vanguard