Ebola In Nigeria: Calabar hospital quarantines 15 patients •Doctor, nurses under watch •FG sends team to UCTH

Firstclass newsline gathered that fifteen persons have been
quarantined at the accident and emergency ward of the University of
Calabar Teaching Hospital after an Ebola Virus Disease scare in the
hospital on Wednesday.
Those quarantined included nine nurses, one doctor, four health
workers and one patient.
The EVD scare in the UCTH resulted from the death of a patient, who
was said to have manifested the symptoms of the killer disease though
the hospital authorities said the patient might have died of any
Haemorrhagic fever.
The patient's identity as of Thursday remained unknown.
Chairman of the Medical Advisory Committee of the teaching hospital,
Dr. Queeneth Kalu, said the blood sample of the patient had been sent
for testing while identified contacts had been quarantined.
At a press briefing in Calabar on Thursday, Kalu said that the
National Centre for Disease Control, the Federal Ministry of Health
and the Cross River State Government as well as the Department of
State Services had been informed of the development.
She said, "On Wednesday October 7, 2015, we managed a patient who
presented with symptoms mimicking viral haemorrhagic fever. Due to the
remote chance of it being contagious, we have sent the blood samples
for testing and quarantined identified contacts.
"Further information will be made available as soon as we receive the
results of the samples sent for analysis."
Also at the briefing, Deputy Chairman of the Medical Advisory
Committee, Dr. Edet Ikpi, said all necessary precautions as prescribed
by the World Health Organisation had been taken to forestall any
eventuality. He however said that there was no cause for panic by
members of the public.
Ikpi urged the media to be cautious of what was being reported as no
case of EVD had been established.
The Federal Government on Thursday confirmed that it had despatch a
team of medical experts to the UCTH.
The Director, Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, Prof. Abdulsalami
Nasidi, told the source that the team was already on ground in
Calabar.
"The NCDC team is on ground and containment measures are already being
put in place. The samples are being tested and we should know by
tomorrow (today). The Federal Ministry of Health is sending additional
support on Friday (today)," Nasidi said.
A source, who went round the hospital in Calabar on Thursday, learnt
that those quarantined were mainly medical personnel and others within
the ward moments before the patient died.
Medical workers at the UCTH, who spoke to our correspondent on
condition of anonymity, alleged that the isolated persons had not been
given food to eat almost 24 hours after they were quarantined.
One of the workers said, "Those isolated have not been communicated
with in the last 24 hours. The ward is a no go area for us at the
moment. The isolated persons are even threatening to set themselves
free if nothing was done soon. They are hungry and have not eaten."
The hospital had on Wednesday shut its accident and emergency ward
after the death of the unnamed patient that gave rise to the Ebola
scare.
The deceased was said to have been brought to the hospital from the
Akpabuyo Local Government Area of Cross River State on Tuesday with
high body temperature, vomiting, stooling and bleeding from the nose.
A source said the patient died shortly after samples were taken from
him for investigation.
The source said, "A patient was brought in on Tuesday vomiting,
stooling and bleeding from the nose and mouth. He had a high
temperature. It was suspected that he had a haemorrhagic fever but it
has not been confirmed. He died around 2pm and his body has been
quarantined while the ward was shut down."
The first Ebola case was reported in Nigeria on July 20, 2014 when the
late Patrick Sawyer, a Liberian, flew into Lagos.
Sawyer, who was without Ebola symptoms at the time of his admission at
the First Consultants Medical Centre, Lagos, infected two doctors, a
nurse and a ward aide.
According to the Federal Ministry of Health, a total of 19 Ebola cases
were established in the country –15 in Lagos and four in Port
Harcourt. Seven deaths were also recorded while the outbreak lasted.
One of the dead was Dr. Stella Adedavoh, a senior consultant, who
treated Sawyer. Her death on August 19, 2014 was the fifth.
The World Health Organisation formally certified Nigeria free 42 days
after Ebola was reported in the country.
Firstclassnewsline.net