The Federal Government has disclosed that it is trying to collaborate with the Centre for Disease Control in Atlanta, U.S., to contain the outbreak of Ebola virus in the country, even as it assured that it is doing everything possible to contain the spread of the ailment.
This was revealed by the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, while speaking to newsmen in Abuja on the death of a nurse who treated Patrick Sawyer, the Liberian and American citizen who died of the disease in Lagos late July. Chukwu explained that Government was in touch with the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) Atlanta, to see if they can extend the experimental drug being administered to the two Americans infected in Liberia.
According to the Health Minister, government was also embarking on recruiting additional health personnel to strengthen the team who are currently managing the situation in Lagos.
“We are also setting up a special team to provide counselling and psycho-social support to patients, identified contacts and their families,’’ he said.
As it stands, Nigeria has now recorded seven confirmed cases of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) with the first being the index case- the imported case from Liberia,of which the victim is now late.
The first identified Nigerian to die of the Ebola virus disease was recorded Yesterday, August 5, 2014, and the victim was one of the nurses that attended to the Liberian.
Chukwu, who noted that all the Nigerians diagnosed with the Ebola virus had primary contacts with the index case, urged all state governments to open up more isolation sites to contain people who might need to be treated or isolated, adding that a 24-hour Emergency Operations Centre would be fully functional by Thursday to enlighten the public on the disease.
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