By Sola Ogundipe, Chioma Obinna, Olasunkanmi Akoni, Victoria Ojeme & Favour Nnabugwu
LAGOS State is facing the problem of shortage of volunteers to help care for the victims of the deadly Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). In spite of a life insurance scheme and N60, 000 daily allowance being offered by the state government, health workers and volunteers are still not forthcoming.
This is coming as the Ebola disease saga in Nigeria took a sinister twist with cases of Ebola virus infection emerging among two spouses of the health workers (primary contacts) that attended to the index (first) case, Liberian-American, Patrick Sawyer.
Minister for Health, Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu, who confirmed the development in an announcement yesterday in Abuja, said the new cases are among the secondary contacts who have been under surveillance in Lagos but were quarantined as soon as they developed Ebola symptoms.
Disturbed by the dearth of volunteers, the Lagos State Government has appealed to health workers and volunteers to come forward to join the state’s effort in the battle against the dreaded EVD.
Lagos State Commissioner for Health Dr. Jide Idris, said they were striving to save the lives of confirmed Ebola cases but "our major challenge in this regard is personnel with requisite expertise, hence, our call for volunteers.
"We require experts in different medical fields including critical care and infectious diseases and these still need to be trained using the World Health Organisation (WHO) protocol which may require up to five days of committed training before such experts can apply their skills safely without risk to themselves. Our international experts are currently providing this training on site."
This is coming on the heels of the donation of 30 body scanners by the United States of America, USA, government to the Nigerian government to check body temperature at the country’s various ports of entry.’’
Speaking on the two new cases, Onyebuchi said: "The two are spouses of a man and woman who had direct contact with Liberian-American Patrick Sawyer, who flew into the country last month with the virus and infected 11 others before he died in July, including the male and female caregiver who both subsequently died of Ebola.’’
"The last two cases bring the total number of confirmed infections in Nigeria, including Sawyer, to 14. This brings to four the total number of EVD patients currently under treatment at the isolation ward of the Ebola Control unit of the Mainland Hospital, Lagos.
"The number of deaths still remains five while the number of those successfully managed and discharged also stands at five," Chukwu said, noting that Federal Government, is working with the Lagos State government and other partners, to maintain vigilance and continue to strengthen containment of the dreaded Ebola virus.
Along with Sawyer, the Lead Consultant at First Consultants Medical Centre, Dr Ameyo Stella Adadevoh, one other female doctor, a nurse, and an official of the ECOWAS office in Lagos have so far died of Ebola in Nigeria.
It was not immediately clear if the newly confirmed cases are spouses of primary contacts who are dead or alive even though Chukwu had earlier in the week, hinted that with a good number of secondary contacts yet to complete the 21-day incubation period, the possibility of more cases of Ebola could not be entirely ruled out.
He reassured the global community that the country would not relent until the very last case of the disease is eradicated.The Federal Government, Chukwu said, is working with the Lagos State government and other partners, to maintain vigilance and continue to strengthen containment.
The Federal Government, last Thursday approved the release of N200 million to Lagos State to fight the disease.
However, the emergence of Ebola infected secondary contacts is unprecedented and heightens fears about the possibility of the disease spreading beyond expectations.
It also raises questions about the validity of assurances earlier given about the general low risk of exposure to the index case alleged to have been taken to hospital immediately on arrival at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport.
Reaching all contacts
On Thursday, the Lagos state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris said a total of 213 people were currently under surveillance as part of efforts to monitor people who may have been potentially exposed to Ebola and that all persons certified negative have been freed.
The Ebola virus runs a maximum of 21 days and aside the treatment for those who have full blown cases, the more important work is tracking all those who have had primary and secondary contact.
Reaching all contacts is believed to be crucial towards gaining control over the virus, according to the World Health Organisation, which expressed cautious optimism when it noted that it was hopeful over the situation in Nigeria because all the confirmed cases came from a single chain of transmission.
Plans underway to honour Dr Adedevoh — FG
Arrangements are being made by the federal government to honour Dr Stella Ameyo Adadevoh for the sacrifice she made in ensuring that Ebola did not spread to other parts of the country, the Minister of Health, Prof. Chukwu said yesterday in Abuja yesterday when he received the Association of Private Medical Practitioners in his office.
Chukwu who commended the efforts of private medical practitioners in the country especially the role played by the First Consultant Hospital and the late Dr Adadevoh which he described as very crucial in ensuring that the virus do not spread like in other countries.
He said that the role of private medical practitioners have become sacrosanct, adding; "particularly now when public medical practitioners, doctors are on strike."
"You have lost one of your colleague, Dr Adadevoh, we mourn her and all Nigerians who lost their lives to Ebola. We will ensure that her bravery, courage and patriotism will not go unnoticed."
NAS cautions against stigma, panic
President of the Nigeria Academy of Science, Prof Oyewale Tomori, cautioned against panic and stigmatizing of victims.
In a statement, Tomori said: "As the foremost independent scientific body in the country, and based on available evidence from the 22 other outbreaks of EVD that have occurred in the East and Central Africa in the past, the Academy wishes to state that there is absolutely no need for panic, but that the public should fully cooperate with the appointed health authorities. "The EVD is a deadly disease but patients stand a good chance of survival if taken in early for supportive management. The Nigerian record of the number of patients already discharged from the Ebola Treatment Centre strongly supports this. It is important to point out that these persons were discharged after having been certified virus-free by the laboratories at LUTH and Redeemers University."
MDCAN commends FG
Meanwhile the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria, MDCAN, has commended the Government over its response to the Ebola disease. It also called on Nigerian communities to cooperate with the government to locate treatment centres in any area of choice by the Ministries of Health.
Rising from a meeting of its Executive Committee, MDCAN in a statement, signed by the President, Dr Steven Oluwole also called for better protection for the health personnel in the forefront of the fight against the disease.
Source: Vanguard
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