Lagos State Government yesterday urged Nigerians to be calm and
not panic, assuring them that both the state and Federal Governments are
well prepared to ensure that the Ebola virus disease did not spread and
that no Nigerian is infected with the virus.Addressing a joint
ministerial press briefing of the state Ministry of Health and the
Federal Ministry of Health on development concerning the disease, 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 said 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.
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 the primary source of infection, adding that the decontamination process in all affected areas had commenced.
He stated that the corpse of the victim had since been cremated, and the ash was awaiting further directives from the Liberian embassy. The commissioner commended the role of the management of the hospital and their ability to detect a high-risk patient within 24-hours.
“Adhering strictly to WHO guidelines, the body of the deceased patient was decontaminated using 10 per cent 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 contact-tracing, Dr. Idris informed that so far, 59 contacts were registered consisting of 44 hospital contacts (38 healthcare workers and six laboratory staff) and 15 airport contacts comprising three ECOWAS staff-driver, liaison, and protocol officers, Nigerian ambassador to Monrovia, two nursing staff and five airport passenger handlers.
He explained that 20 of the 59 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, adding that the airline manifest had not been provided yet.
“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,” he said, adding 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 was under way.
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 was also activated.
He stressed that in recognising the importance of involving the community early in the response, traditional and religious leaders were alerted about the disease and requested to report promptly to health-care workers.
The Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Health, Dr. Yewande Adeshina, also appealed to operators of traditional healthcare centres to be wary of patients with fever symptoms who showed signs of extreme weakness and diarrhea and immediately alert health authorities about such patients.
The President of the Nigerian Academy of Science, Prof. Oyewale Tomori, who was also at the briefing, said the contact persons were 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 was absolutely no need for people to panic as the golden rule was to observe the personal hygiene of always washing the hands regularly with soap.
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 the primary source of infection, adding that the decontamination process in all affected areas had commenced.
He stated that the corpse of the victim had since been cremated, and the ash was awaiting further directives from the Liberian embassy. The commissioner commended the role of the management of the hospital and their ability to detect a high-risk patient within 24-hours.
“Adhering strictly to WHO guidelines, the body of the deceased patient was decontaminated using 10 per cent 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 contact-tracing, Dr. Idris informed that so far, 59 contacts were registered consisting of 44 hospital contacts (38 healthcare workers and six laboratory staff) and 15 airport contacts comprising three ECOWAS staff-driver, liaison, and protocol officers, Nigerian ambassador to Monrovia, two nursing staff and five airport passenger handlers.
He explained that 20 of the 59 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, adding that the airline manifest had not been provided yet.
“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,” he said, adding 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 was under way.
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 was also activated.
He stressed that in recognising the importance of involving the community early in the response, traditional and religious leaders were alerted about the disease and requested to report promptly to health-care workers.
The Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Health, Dr. Yewande Adeshina, also appealed to operators of traditional healthcare centres to be wary of patients with fever symptoms who showed signs of extreme weakness and diarrhea and immediately alert health authorities about such patients.
The President of the Nigerian Academy of Science, Prof. Oyewale Tomori, who was also at the briefing, said the contact persons were 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 was absolutely no need for people to panic as the golden rule was to observe the personal hygiene of always washing the hands regularly with soap.
 |
Ebola virus: Lagos, FG urge citizens not to panic |
No comments:
Post a Comment