The Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, has confirmed that a Nigerian nurse who had primary contact with the late Patrick Sawyer, the Liberian who imported the deadly Ebola virus into Nigeria, is dead.
The Minister said at a news conference on Wednesday, that the nurse died on Tuesday as a result of the virus. He also said the nurse was the first Nigerian to be claimed by the virus aside Mr. Sawyer who brought the disease into the country.
According to Chukwu, the test conducted on those quarantined shows that Nigeria now has seven confirmed cases of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).
“Yesterday, 5th August, 2014, the first known Nigerian to die of the EVD was recorded and this was one of the nurses that attended to the Liberian. The other five cases are currently being treated at the isolation ward in Lagos,” Chukwu said.
He emphasised that all Nigerians diagnosed of the EVD, including the dead nurse, were primary contacts of the index case. He assured that the 24/7 Emergency Operations Centre which he mentioned in the last press conference will be fully functional by Thursday.
“It will be headed by Dr. Faisal Shuaibu as the Incident Manager. He will later today lead a 6-man inter-agency team drawn from National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), the US CDC, the WHO, UNICEF and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to Lagos to complete the setting up of the Centre,” he revealed.
“They will be joined by the other personnel from the Lagos State government and the federal hospitals in the Lagos area as well as the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control. I have also appointed a Director of Communication and Community Mobilization who will be based in Lagos- Prof. O. Onajole of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital.”
He also said a special team is being set up to provide counselling and psychosocial support to patients, identified contacts and their families.
“Within the week, the Minister of Information and I would be visiting Lagos State to assess the situation on ground. I once again reassure Nigerians that the government is working hard to ensure the containment of the outbreak,” the minister said adding that, for this purpose, the federal government would recruit additional health personnel.
Chukwu also disclosed that government is making arrangements for more isolation tents to quicken the pace of providing isolation wards in all the states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.
He appealed to the striking doctors to resume and help the country prevent the spread of the disease.
