Sawyer: Lagos matron shows Ebola symptoms
August 6, 2014
There was gloom at the secretariat of the Nigerian Medical
Association,Lagos State chapter when the association’s Chairman, Dr.
Tope Ojo, disclosed that the matron of the hospital where the
Liberian-born American, Patrick Sawyer, was admitted for treatment was
showing symptoms of Ebola virus.
The matron is one of the health workers at the Obalende, Lagos
hospital who attended to Sawyer before he died of the disease (Ebola)
on July 25..
A female medical doctor, who also participated in managing the
Liberian- American was confirmed on Monday by the Minister of Health,
Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, to have contracted the deadly virus.
Apart from the female medical doctor and the matron, six other
people suspected to have been infected with the virus are being
quarantined at the IDH, Yaba.
Ojo, who added that 30 striking doctors had volunteered to attend to
the medical needs of all those with Ebola-related case, stated that the
female medical doctor was stable.
He said, “We know that the infected doctor is stable, however, the
matron is showing symptoms too. But everybody, including the experts
from the World Health Organisation, are doing all they can.
“Strike or no strike, we must respond to emergencies. Our doctors are
at the Yaba hospital where isolated contacts are being monitored.”
Ojo however said the NMA was having a challenge getting volunteers
to be part of the Ebola Case Management Committee because of the fear
of contracting the virus.
The NMA chairman said, “There are seven committees working on the
management of the disease at the centre in Lagos which our members are
part of.
“ But the committee which we are having a challenge getting volunteers
is that of case management. This committee comprises people that
work directly with confirmed cases.
“Our doctors are worried about the danger it(Ebola virus) poses to their lives and they need to be reassured.
“We understand their fears andovernment for doctors.”
He stressed the need for we are making moves to confirm the level of
preparedness of the g the government to put adequate measures in place
to assure health workers of their safety in stemming the virus.
“ Look at the protective measures that doctors in Liberia and
Guinea wear. They are well protected, yet some of them still caught
it,” Ojo said.
A doctor in one of the committees, Dr. Babajide Saheed, said they
were working closely with WHO and other stakeholders to contain the
spread of the virus.
Saheed said,” Not all doctors can attend to an Ebola patient. In fact,
you must limit the number of health workers treating affected persons
just to contain the risk.
“We will be escalating the situation if doctors rush to the Mainland hospital to attend to patients.”
A top official of the IDH said the Lagos State Government should
designate one of its hospitals to accommodate more persons that might
be isolated for monitoring.
“The mainland hospital may not be enough if we are to isolate more
persons who had contact with Sawyer and those who have had direct
contact with those people too,” he added.
He said that “ instead of using a ward in an hospital, it is better to
just designate a whole hospital and evacuate patients from it.”
The
Bloomberg Businessweek reported on Tuesday that Nigeria
was considering applying for a dose of the experimental Ebola therapy
to treat the Lagos female doctor.
“We will exploit the possibility of getting some (ZMapp Experimental
Drug),” the Lagos State Health Commissioner, Jide Idris, said.
The San Diego, United States-based Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc.’s
experimental ZMapp drug had only been tested on infected animals before
it was given to Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol, the two U S health
workers who were infected with the virus in Liberia.
Airline’s manifest with FG, says LASG
Also on Tuesday, the Lagos State Government said Asky Airline had made
the full manifest of passengers on its flight KP50 available to the
Federal Government.
.....
However, the Health Commissioner , Dr. Idris, said on Tuesday that the Federal Government had the list.
The commissioner, while updating journalists on development on the virus in the state, said, ”
The
airline has made the comprehensive list of the people on the flight
available to the Federal Government through the Federal Airports
Authority of Nigeria.”
Idris added that the government was still compiling a list of all
the primary and secondary contacts of the Lagos female doctor who
contracted the Ebola virus from Sawyer.
The Commissioner, who also dispelled the rumour that the doctor had
died, said the development was part of measures to curb the spread of
the disease.
According to him, contact tracing is one of the measures needed to curb the spread of the virus.
He urged the public to be vigilant, especially with regards to relating with ill people.
Idris said, “Contact tracing is essential and very important to stop
the spread of Ebola virus. In the case of the doctor, who was infected,
we have contacted her family and have opened a comprehensive list of
people that had contact with her.
.....
Flight manifest can’t be made public- FAAN
However, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority has said that it
cannot reveal to the public, the names of passengers onboard the flight
that brought in the late Sawyer into Nigeria.
Reacting to request in some quarters that the names of those onboard
the flight be made public, the General Manager, Public Affairs, NCAA,
Mr. Fan Ndubuoke, told one of our correspondents in Abuja that it was
the duty of the agency to protect the passengers.
He said, “If we mention your name as one of the passengers on that
flight, tell me, how will people see you? This is not a plane crash
that will require us to say that the deseased’s relatives need to know
those on the flight.
“These people are not dead; they are alive and we have a duty to
protect them while they are receiving treatment. You can’t release such
a manifest to the public because this will cause stigmatisation. We
have had reason to state that it is not possible.”
On what is currently happening to those onboard the flight, Ndubuoke
said the FederaL Ministry of Health was in contact with them.
He said, “The Minister of Health has stated that there were 50
passengers onboard that flight apart from Sawyer. He made it clear that
the ministry was getting in touch with all of them. The Health
ministry had explained that it was in touch with all of them and was
monitoring and investigating them. Even the driver that took Sawyer is
being monitored.”
World Bank pledges N32bn to fight Ebola
Meanwhile, the World Bank Group on Tuesday pledged $200m (N32bn) to contain the spread of Ebola in West Africa.
.....
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